Pawn of Kronos
by doubles12
Summary: Leila Brooke hates her father. Being the daughter of one of the Big Three, that's bad news, because she is powerful and dangerous. When she is sent on a mission to kill Percy Jackson, will she serve in Kronos' army and fight against her father? Or will Percy somehow turn her back to the good side? NOT Mary-Sue.
1. Introduction

*****Takes place during "Battle of the Labyrinth"**

*****This is a sort of a prequel to a character I created in my version of "The House of Hades". This story **_**will **_**make sense, even if you don't read my spinoff. This is my second fanfiction. Enjoy!**

* * *

Maybe it was an illusion. Maybe it was just a dream. Maybe she just dozed off...excuses, excuses. Leila had been trying to convince herself with lies for twelve years now. It hadn't worked. But she felt _sure _that she had seen a man, well above seven feet tall, prowling around the supermarket. She was terrified; she had told an employee, but of course, he didn't believe her. No one ever did.

Was Leila a troubled kid? Yeah. You could say that.

_Don't be so pessimistic. It's too early in the morning_, she chided herself. But she couldn't help thinking about the five different schools she'd gotten herself kicked out of. Leila nervously pulled on a sweatshirt, and brushed her long, tangled black hair as she prepared for her first day of seventh grade at MLK Middle School.

In her pocket, she fingered the pocketknife that her mom had given her for her twelfth birthday. It was a strange gift to give to a pre-teen, but Leila was grateful. She felt like she needed the protection. One of the blades was an ordinary silver color, but the other had a weird bronze tinge to it. _Only for emergencies_, her mother had warned her. Leila never knew what "emergency" called for a bronze pocketknife, but she decided against questioning the gift.

"Leila!" hollered her mom from downstairs. "First day of school!"

"Coming!" she yelled back. She peered out of her window, gazing at the Bay Area hills which surrounded her house for a moment, before dashing downstairs. She gulped down her breakfast, and wiped her mouth.

Her mom chuckled at her haste, and playfully shoved her daughter off the chair. "Go. And good luck, sweetie."

_I'll need it. _Leila thought as she opened her front door. She walked towards the intersection, so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice a tall guy bump her arm. She whipped around, and as she recognized him, she said accusingly, "Keaton! You scared me!"

Keaton's gray eyes flashed with amusement. "Hey, Leila. Care to walk to MLK with me?"

"No way. I thought you were staying at the other middle school!"

"I couldn't just ditch my best friend, right?"

Leila shoved his arm playfully, saying, "Thanks for being there for me, Wise Guy." She had given Keaton that nickname because he had managed to get straight A's ever since preschool, even though he had ADHD, like Leila.

"So, what's your plan?" he asked in a low voice.

"Plan for what?" Leila asked confusedly.

"For blowing up this school, obviously!"

"Keaton!"

He wisely stayed silent, until he stopped abruptly near the front of the school.

"Hey, they're hurting that guy!" he said, his eyes narrowing. Leila turned to where he was looking, and saw a gang of eighth graders beating up another student.

"Cut it out!" she said sharply, running towards them. She had a special hatred for bullies.

Suddenly, she felt Keaton grasp her arm. "Leila, don't be so rash. Remember last time?" She impatiently shook him off and rushed to the poor student's aid.

Leila kicked her way through the gang, stomping on a couple of foots, until the boys scattered. "Hey, are you okay?" she said worriedly.

"Yeah." the guy said, holding his bleeding nose. The guy was wearing a beanie covering his curly brown hair, and his forehead was covered in acne. Around his neck hung a necklace which had colorful beads strung on it. It was pretty hot outside, but he was wearing jeans and sneakers.

The guy scrambled to his feet, brushing off his shirt, and said, "I'm Sage. Thanks for helping me."

"I'm Leila."

Sage studied her face for a few moments, and his eyes widened...in fear? Recognition?

"What?" Leila said, self-conscious.

"Nothing." he muttered, "You just look like someone I know."

"Who?" asked Keaton curiously, who had decided to join the party.

Sage's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head as his eyes darted from Keaton to Leila. "Oh, n-no one," he stammered, "just a guy I know from summer camp."

Leila and Keaton exchanged looks. Strange. "Do you need any more help?" Keaton said.

"Naw. I'm just heading towards the middle school." Sage said, pointing towards MLK.

"Great! You can come with us, then." Leila said, before Keaton could stop her.

"Y-you guys are in seventh grade?" Sage asked.

She nodded, saying, "What about you?"

She was guessing eighth grade, at the very least, but to her surprise, Sage said seventh too. That was weird. He looked like he could be in high school.

She forged ahead, leaving Keaton and Sage to follow her. "Let's go get tortured!" she said enthusiastically.

* * *

***Two months later***

"Sage, I can't believe how fast you ate that enchilada."

"What? I was hungry!"

"Yeah, after eating two muffins and three apples? Sure."

Leila, Keaton, and Sage sat on a bench outside, eating their lunches. Leila felt like she couldn't be happier. Her two best buddies were sitting next to her, the lunch was actually edible, and not a single freakish thing had happened to her this semester. Yet.

"You know that off-limits area in the back of the school? The one that's been under construction for like, a year?" Leila asked.

"Yeah." the guys said together.

"Well, I heard there's a trapdoor underneath all the construction stuff. Should we check it out?"

"No way!" Sage said, sweat appearing on his forehead. "I heard that place is haunted."

"Aww, I didn't know you were one to be scared of the _paranormal_, Sage." Keaton teased.

Sage was a horrible liar. Leila could tell that something else bothered him about that place, and she was determined to find out.

After a pause, Sage asked uncertainly, "Leila? You know your mom?"

Leila blinked in surprise at the rapid change of subject. Then, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Sage, I know my mom."

He blushed. "You know that's not what I meant. I mean, is she divorced?"

Leila felt her heart being squeezed with an iron fist. She studied her apple for a while, then threw it at the crowd of pigeons which had gathered at their feet.

She never married. My dad didn't have the guts to marry her once he found out that she was expecting. Never saw my father, and I've never wanted to."

"After an awkward pause, Keaton added, "Same here. I never knew my mom. I never saw her, and she never kept in touch with me."

Sage seemed to be lost in thought.

"Earth to Sage, Earth to Sage." Keaton joked, punching him on the arm.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Anyway, I've gotta run to the bathroom."

"Again?" Leila teased.

Sage's face colored. "I'll see you guys later," he said, and he trotted off - with that weird limp he had - to the facilities.

Keaton grunted. "That kid's weird." he murmured.

"He's our friend."

"Yeah, he's great and nice and all, but there's something about him..."

"I know. But I can't put my finger on it."


	2. Dream

Leila impatiently tapped her pencil against her notebook. She tried to ignore the snickers and whispers of the annoying group of popular guys and girls who sat behind her in History.

"So weird..."  
"Friends with acne-face..."  
"And the head of the Chess Club!"

A chorus of laughs started, and the teacher glared at them until they shut up. Leila clenched her eyes shut in anger, and because she had such good luck, the teacher called on her. "Sleeping in class again, Leila? Then you can identify which Greek god _this _is." The teacher tapped her finger against the Powerpoint projection.

Leila exhaled in relief. She actually knew the answer. "Uh, that's Poseidon, right?"

The teacher looked disappointed. "Yes, that is Poseidon, otherwise known as Neptune in the times of the Roman Empire." Then, he moved to pick on another daydreaming person.

Leila stared at the picture of the sea god. Really, what was the point of knowing the names of all the Greek gods and goddesses? They just gave her a splitting headache.

* * *

After school, Leila made sure that Keaton and Sage weren't following her and warily walked to the back of the school. She _had_ to see what scared Sage so much about the abandoned construction site.

She hopped down the hole and brushed away the dirt and gravel on the floor. Sure enough, the outline of the trapdoor appeared underneath all the muck.

What was so scary about it?

She squinted her eyes, examining it. She tried to pry it open with her nails, but it refused to budge.

Carved into the wood, there was a symbol...she recognized it as the Greek delta. What was that doing on a trapdoor?

Her eyebrows furrowed together, and she lightly traced the delta with the fingers.

It began to glow bright blue.

"Agh!" she yelled, scrambling backwards. Where the trapdoor was, there was now a dark opening replacing it.

"And what," said a voice, "exactly do you think you're doing?"

* * *

Leila had never seen Sage so angry. He grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the site. She looked over her shoulder and found that the trapdoor had replaced the hole again.

"What?"

"Leila, that place is dangerous!"

"There's something you're not telling me."

She could see his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He looked nervously at the site, and back at Leila's face. "Sage!" she said, impatiently.

"Just tell me this," he said quietly, "did you see a symbol on that door?"

"Yes, but how did you -"

"Glowed bright blue?"

"What -"

Sage clutched his head. "Oh, gods. Oh no. This is not good. Not good. Not good."

Leila would have stayed with her friend, but he was seriously creeping her out with his muttering, "They said there would be only one, they said there would be only one."

She left him by the trapdoor, looking mournfully at Leila as if he was deciding how good she would look in a coffin.

* * *

Leila _hated _going to sleep, mainly because of the dreams. She didn't know whether this happened to everyone, but she had such creepy nightmares that were hard to shake off. But she managed to close her eyes, and after what seemed like forever, she feel asleep.

In her dream, she saw a boy, who looked around her age, talking to a girl with blond hair. The girl kept motioning towards the creek in front of them, and her eyes were narrowed in thought. Suddenly, the girl gasped, said something, and pointed above his head. A glowing green hologram of a fork was floated above the boy's dark hair. Wait...not a fork. What was that thing called? A trident.

The image faded, and more images blurred together. Leila saw the boy growing up. He grew taller and fitter. The beads on the necklace he wore added to two in number. She studied his eyes, and was shocked to find that it was the exact same shade of green as hers.

Leila saw the boy fighting a crowd of some weird creatures back-to-back with the same blond girl. The vision faded, and she saw him again, wounded and bleeding, holding up the sky. She saw him sitting underneath a tree, gazing at fields of strawberries. The visions had to be fake. Those creatures don't exist. And who holds up the sky?

One name was repeated again and again in different tones and voices, sometimes with a smile, and more often with a sneer: "Percy."

Son. Brother. Friend. Camper. Hero.

_Why am I seeing this? _she thought. _How the heck did I make this all up in my head?_

_ Ah. _said another voice. _But you aren't, Leila. Your fate and his are intertwined. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, hero of Olympus._

Leila woke up with a start, covered with sweat. She clutched her rapidly beating heart.

"Oh my God." she muttered.

Then she laughed a little. Leila admonished herself, "It was only a dream. You have weird dreams all the time."

But never like that one.

* * *

****Note from the author: Just wanted to let you guys know that I update every few days, so look out for the next chapter coming up!**


	3. An Attack

Lost in thought, Leila walked to school with Keaton and Sage by her side. They were laughing and chatting with each other, but Keaton suddenly said, "Leila, what's up?"

"Huh?"

"What's bothering you?"

"Oh, uh, nothing."

Sage's eyes narrowed. Leila always felt uncomfortable when he looked at her that way. She had the feeling that he could read her mind or something.

"Come on, Leila. Spit it out." Sage said.

All the way to school, they kept pestering her like that, until she finally said, "Okay! Okay! I just had a nightmare, or...not really a nightmare. A dream. It kind of freaked me out."

"What was it about?" Keaton asked curiously.

Leila said in a dramatic voice, "Are you prepared to decipher my dream, Psychic Keaton and Soothsayer Sage?"

"Nice alliteration."

"What?"

"Just tell us the dream." Sage sighed.

"Fine. I dreamed about this guy..."

Keaton choked on the muffin he was eating. Leila said hurriedly, "I didn't even know him! Anyway, he _looked _like he was from this century, but he was fighting with a _sword_. Pretty cool, huh?"

Sage started to hyperventilate.

"Hey man, are you okay?" Keaton said worriedly.

"Yeah," he gasped, "I'm fine. Continue, Leila."

"Um...that's it." Leila lied.

"Name?" Sage exhaled.

"What, you mean the name of the guy I dreamed about?"

"Yeah."

Leila thought for a while. She usually couldn't remember names very well, and often, she forgot small details like that.

"I can't remember." she admitted.

"Guess."

"Why is it so important?"

"Please, Leila!"

"Um...Peter? No. That wasn't it. Paul? Perry? I think it was Patrick, actually."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Leila lied again, because her next guess, "Pedro", didn't seem right either.

Sage relaxed.

"What was that about?" asked Keaton, visibly annoyed at him.

"N-nothing."

"You're a horrible liar." Keaton acknowledged.

* * *

Leila and Keaton stood in the corner of the gym, standing awkwardly in their horrible P.E. clothes.

"I hate this class." Leila muttered.

"Tell me about it." Keaton whispered back.

"ALRIGHT!" the teacher hollered, "We're starting today with ten laps around the Gymnasium!"

Everyone groaned.

"I'm sorry, WHAT DID YOU SAY? Do you want to make that fifteen?"

Keaton and Leila started to jog around the gym. She was probably the most athletically challenged person on the planet. With her skinny frame, she couldn't even lift a gallon of milk properly.

Keaton was nice enough to slow down to Leila's pace. She smiled. It was good to have a friend who supported you during the worst class created by the public school system.

Then, Leila's world ended when the gym's roof partially collapsed.

"What -" she started to say. The students started screaming and scrambling for the exits. Leila rubbed her eyes. She couldn't _believe _what she was seeing.

"A Cyclops?" Keaton gasped.

"A what?"

"Leila, do you _ever _pay attention during History class?"

"Does it matter at this point?"

She had the urge to stop the Cyclops from destroying the building. There were so many innocent kids in here. She started to run towards the giant creature, weaving her way through broken glass and concrete.

"What are you _doing?_" Keaton hissed.

"I need to stop that thing!"

He paused for a moment, his stormy gray eyes widened in fear, and he finally said, "Fine. But you're taking me with you."

"Let's go!"

Leila grabbed his hand and they dashed towards the weird monster. It was gigantic - at least eight feet tall, and if she squinted enough, she could make out one huge eye on his face.

"LEROY IS HUNGRY!" The Cyclops roared.

Keaton skittered to a stop. "Wait. We need a plan." he said.

Leila folded her arms. "I'm waiting for one, Wise Guy."

His mind seemed to be working at a million miles an hour. He said, "You create a distraction. I'll hit it from behind with -", he picked up a five foot metal pipe which had fallen from the ceiling, " - this."

* * *

"Hey, ugly!" yelled Leila.

"Huh?" Leroy the Cyclops said.

"Your mom is so ugly that if you looked up 'ugly' in the dictionary, her picture would be next to it!" she hollered. Okay, lame joke. But it sure got Leroy's attention.

Leroy roared with rage and stomped on the place where Leila had been standing five seconds ago. She didn't know how she did it, but on impulse, she had rolled away faster than she was aware.

"I SMELL DEMIGOD!" bellowed Leroy. "DEMIGOD MAKES GOOD SNACK FOR LEROY!"

"What in the world?" she muttered. Cyclops? Demigod? The day just couldn't get any weirder. She saw Keaton running behind Leroy and slamming him in the back with the pole.

Leroy turned around slowly and looked at Keaton. "You hit Leroy? Leroy hit you!"

Keaton's pupils dilated. "Uh oh." he said.

The Cyclops raised a massive fist and punched Keaton, sending him flying to the opposite wall.

Leila's vision turned red with rage. She whipped out her pocketknife, and the silver blade came flying out. She stabbed Leroy in the foot, and he bawled in pain, but she it didn't seem to affect him very much.

_Hmm. I wonder..._she thought. She slid her thumb across the second blade, the strange bronze one, causing it to pop out. She used the momentum of the giant's leg to catapult herself up on his head.

_What the -_

Leila stabbed Leroy again, this time in the eye - that's right, _eye_ - and he exploded into dust.

She pinched herself a couple of times to make sure she wasn't dreaming, and she ran to Keaton's aid.

He had a nasty bump on his head, and his leg was sprained, but he seemed fine otherwise. "How did you get rid of Leroy?" he asked.

Leila took out her knife, showing him the bronze blade. "With this." she said.

Keaton struggled to sit up, and he held his hand out for the pocketknife. Leila handed it to him, and she watched him observe it.

"There's something written here." he said.

"What?"

How did she not notice that?

"Ακίνητα του αίματος ήμισυ στρατόπεδο." Keaton said.

"Property of Camp Half-Blood." she translated aloud.

Keaton stared at her. "It's Greek. Your mom isn't Greek?" he said, his eyebrows furrowing together.

Leila shook her head, mystified.

"Then...how were you able to translate that? What is Camp Half-Blood? How was _I _able to..." Keaton clutched his head. "This isn't logical."

She managed a shaky laugh. "You'll figure it out. You always do."

Suddenly, they heard sounds of sirens coming towards them.

"Let's get out of here." Keaton said. Leila agreed, and helped him limp towards the exit.

She scrunched up her eyes in the glare of the sun, and found herself face-to-face with the barrel of a gun.

A voice said, "Put your hands where I can see them. You're under arrest."


	4. Imagination, or Reality?

"_She's _under arrest? But she's a victim!" Keaton argued.

"No, siree. _You're _a victim. There are eyewitness reports stating that this young lady over here set off a bomb which destroyed this fine building over here." The police officer said, his gun arm unwavering.

"A _bomb?_ Are you insane? Did you not see the giant which attacked the gym?" Leila said, and she immediately regretted it. She sounded crazy.

The officer's eyes hardened, and he took out some cuffs from his belt. "You'll have to come with me, little girl."

Leila's mouth fell open. She looked at the police officer, and then at Keaton. His eyes softened, and his head tilted forward slightly. A mutual understanding passed between them.

She slowly raised her hands towards the police officer, who smiled in satisfaction. "Yes. Nice and easy, now."

Suddenly, Leila punched the officer in the face and ran, as fast as she could, towards the back of the school. She heard a gunshot, and felt a searing pain in her left arm. Strangely, it didn't hurt at first, but rather increased in intensity.

She crashed into Sage, who yelped, then said in relief, "Leila! You're safe! Listen, there's something I need to -"

"No time!" she shouted. "Sage, tell my mom..."

Her eyes swept over the buildings, and finally rested on the construction site.

"Tell my mom that I'll be fine." she finished, shaking off Sage's restraining arm, and dashing towards the ditch.

_No way_. she thought as she dropped in the hole. _This__ is the dumbest thing you've ever done, and that's saying something. _

She continued to insult herself as she swiped her palm over the small symbol on the trapdoor ferociously. The delta began to glow blue. She jumped in the opening just as the emergency alarms began to blare.

* * *

"Dang it!" Leila gasped as her feet touched the ground. Her knees buckled, and she fell, grasping her arm in agony.

She looked around, and saw that torches lit the low corridor which she was in. Next to her, a small stream spanned the length of the hallway. Leila doubted water would help, but her arm was bothering her so much that it blocked her ability to think. Gingerly, she lowered her injury in the water, and she felt the wound closing up. The pain lifted, and she sighed with relief.

The water must be magical. At this point, Leila was prepared to believe anything. Now that it didn't hurt as much, she wondered what she should do now.

Leila couldn't go back; she had just punched a police officer, and she was technically a criminal. She'd just sneak out of the trapdoor and...and what? Join the army? She'd do something.

Leila stood up and stretched her arms above her head to reach for the door...but she was grasping at empty air. Her heart dropped to her stomach as she realized something.

"I'm trapped." she said aloud. Stuck with this epiphany, Leila tried to clear her head. She definitely couldn't stay where she was, this weird place seemed...ancient. Dangerous.

She could scream until someone heard her, or just die here in this hole. She took option number three: Keep moving.

Leila scrambled to her feet and fingered her pocketknife, deciding to keep it in front of her. The bronze blade cast an eerie glow, and she began to walk forward cautiously. As soon as she reached what seemed like the end, the corridor morphed into a huge room filled with gold.

She knew better than to touch anything. What would gold do for her now?

For what seemed like two hours, Leila walked corridor after corridor, tunnel after tunnel, and at one point, she actually had to move forward on her hands and knees because the ceiling had become too low. She passed a beautiful waterfall which had a bluish hue to it.

Strangely, she felt drawn to it. She moved closer and closer, and as her toes touched the water, something grabbed her and dragged her under the surface.

* * *

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Leila yelled. Then, she clamped her mouth shut to conserve air.

She had never learned how to swim. Her mom had always told her to stay away from the water. Leila thrashed and flailed wildly, struggling to get to the surface, but the grip on her leg remained firm. She looked down, and saw a boy pulling her deeper and deeper into pool.

Finally, Leila just couldn't handle it. She breathed in, expecting an onslaught of water, but she found that she could inhale and exhale as easily as she could on dry land.  
Internally, she shook her head. _Magic water, again? _she thought in amazement.

Strength coursed through her limbs as she breathed deeply. She shook her foot free of the weird guy's grip and kicked upwards. The water seemed to help her, and she propelled towards the surface.

_Wait! _a voice said in her head. Instincively, she stopped. The boy grasped her shoulders and Leila whipped out her pocketknife, but the boy raised his hands in surrender.

He said in an underwater voice, "I didn't know who you were before! I'm not going to hurt you!"

Leila found herself believing the boy, and she studied his face. His eyes were blue and his dark hair floated around his face. His skin had a greenish tinge to it, but he looked like a normal teen otherwise.

"What do you mean, 'who I was'?"

"Ah. You don't know yet." the green dude said, his eyes softening.

"Don't know _what?_ Where am I? Who am I? And who are you?"

"So many questions," he sighed, "I am sorry that you are a female. Your father would have sent someone from the camp."

"Excuse me? What's wrong with being a girl? And what's this camp you're talking about?"

"You know, the one...oh. You _don't_ know. You must find your own way, Leila."

"How did you know my name?"

"So little time to explain. _He_ senses your presence." the boy said fearfully.

"My father?"

"No. Someone far more powerful and ancient than your father. Farewell, Leila. Beware the Labyrinth! It holds many secrets and many dangers."

"Please, don't go!" Leila cried out.

The boy stopped for a moment, considering her. He brushed his fingers against her face, and said, "You have your father's eyes. He does love you, you know."

The water shifted, and he disappeared.

"Wow. Thanks for the help." she muttered.

Her head burst through the surface, and she waded to the shore. The movements came naturally and easily to her. Leila climbed on land, and lay on her back for a while.

Suddenly, she cursed. What the _heck_ was going on here? Weird underwater people? A maze underground? And most of all, her father?

Leila hated her father. She didn't want anything to do with him. He had _abandoned _her pregnant mom, and left with no explanation. Only idiots do that. Everything the boy had said to her had left her thoughts muddled. It seemed like there was a camp that could help her, but because she was a _girl_, her dad wouldn't send anyone from there.

"Sexist jerk." she mumbled.

And then, to top it all off, the guy said that her dad _loved _her. That was the biggest lie ever! She jumped to her feet and kicked a couple of plants.

The next part disturbed her even more. The Labyrinth. Sure, she'd hadn't been paying attention half the time during Ancient History class, but from what she gathered, the Labyrinth was a story from Greek mythology.

"It's REAL!" she shouted, her voice echoing. She clutched her head. If the Labyrinth was real...that meant the legends about it were true. It was a scary, dangerous place where hungry monsters lived and humans went insane.

And she was trapped in it.


	5. A Visitor

***Two days later***  
Leila's hands were clammy with sweat as she clutched her only means of protection. The serpent was on her heels. She _hated _snakes. They scared the living daylights out of her. The problem with this one was that it shot acid from its mouth.

"Nice snakey. Good snakey." she said shakily. The snake hissed and pursued her corridor after corridor, tunnel after tunnel.

Her right sneaker was melting from the acid attack.

_Okay, you can't run forever_. She thought.

She whipped around and slashed the head off the snake. With a final _hiss_, the snake exploded into dust. Leila was about to congratulate herself until she noticed her left hand swelling and oozing with pus.

_Ew. Acid doesn't cause that, right? _she wondered.

"You're such an idiot, Leila." she scolded herself. This was her third wierd monster attack in one day, and she managed to get herself hurt. Suddenly, she thought of how this would probably be happening for the rest of her short life, because she was trapped in this maze.

"I want to go home." she whispered.

"Ah. Home. That is where all of our stories begin." said a voice.

Before she knew what she was doing, she had her knife at the throat of the source of the voice. It was a little girl, maybe ten years old, with a simple brown shawl over her head. She was sitting on the brick floor in front of a roaring fire. The girl stared at Leila, undaunted, and Leila ashamedly put her knife in her pocket.

"I'm sorry." she said.

The girl said nothing, staring at Leila with her rich, powerful red eyes. Could eyes even be that red? Could they even be red at all?

Leila found herself sitting next to the girl. "You scared me."

"Yes, the Labyrinth changes all," The girl said sadly. "It changes the most innocent of minds and twists them into something unrecognizable."

Leila stared at the red flames. She saw the faces of the people she loved: her mother, her grandparents, Keaton, Sage.

"Who are you?" Leila asked.

"I am the guardian of the hearth. Protector of home. Of family."

Leila sighed in defeat. "Please, no more riddles concerning Greek mythology."

The girl chuckled a little sadly. "But it is apart of you, Leila. And you are apart of it as well."

"I don't want to be. I'm just an ordinary girl. I don't know why all of this is happening to me!" Leila dropped her hands in her lap in defeat.

"Mmm." the girl said, poking the flames. "I could explain it all to you. I could tell you your future. But that is not what precedes a true hero's path."

"I'm no hero."

"So modest. You remind me of your brother."

"I don't have a brother."

The girl's eyes widened like she'd been caught doing something wrong. "Of course. Leila, you will soon be facing a choice which will affect what you do in the future."

"How does everybody know my name? And can someone tell me what is going on?"

The girl continued, "I am not allowed to interfere with affairs like this one. You have to find your own life, Leila. I cannot help you with that. Not even your father -"

"He's not my father." Leila said abruptly.

The girl tilted her head slightly, considering Leila with her ancient, glowing eyes. "Oh? And why is that?"

"You say that you're protector of home. Family makes up a home, and fathers complete a family. My father _abandoned _my mom! It's because of _him _that she's so depressed! Fathers are supposed to be loving, and caring, and -" Leila began to cry.

The girl touched Leila's shoulder, and warmth coursed through her limbs. She forced herself to meet the girl's gaze.

"Homes are not perfect. They are messy, and complicated. Especially yours. But that is what makes a home a home." the girl said gently.

She gestured towards the fire, and Leila saw herself growing up, her mom and friends supporting her throughout the whole way.

_Love you, Mom. Always._

_Sage, I cannot believe how fast you ate that enchilada!_

_Thanks for being there for me, Wise Guy._

Leila found herself remembering a story. "Hestia." she said softly.

Hestia nodded in satisfaction, and flicked her finger. Leila felt the grime disappearing from her face, her hair combing itself, and her hand healing. "Do not judge your father too harshly, Leila. You will find out who he is, and eventually, you will understand."

Leila nodded unwillingly, staring at her hands. She still didn't believe Hestia, but considering that she was a goddess and all, she didn't want to take the risk of disrespecting her.

"We will meet again, Leila. You _will_ find a way out of the Labyrinth. But when the time comes, remember that the best journey always takes you home."

She snapped her fingers, and a backpack appeared in front of Leila. The goddess walked into the darkness of the maze, taking the flames with her.

Leila reached for pack, and unzipped it. Though she had no idea how it all fit in there, inside was at least a month's worth of food, clothes, shoes, two water bottles, and a wad of cash.

She hadn't had food since she passed by that room full of bread. Yeah, of all the things, _bread_. By the time she had grabbed a loaf of the stuff, the room had filled with grain spirits, and they had attacked her with boxes of Cheerios and Lucky Charms.

With difficulty, she pulled off her shoes, which were now smoking with the acid, and tied on the new ones. They fit perfectly.

"Wow. Thanks, Hestia." Leila said sincerely.

She felt her eyelids drooping. Leila rested her head on the pack, and fell asleep.


	6. New York, New York

Leila opened her eyes, and stared at the dark, damp ceiling. She was shocked to hear..._people_. Tons of people, walking and talking above her head. Traffic, cars honking, tires swerving.

She looked around, and the environment had completely changed. She was sitting in a sewer, and next to her, a ladder lead to a circular door above.

_What?_

Without hesitation, Leila swung her backpack on her shoulder and climbed the ladder. She felt around the door, until her fingers brushed a tiny fissure engraved in the metal.

_Aha!_

The Greek delta glowed blue, and Leila climbed out of the darkness, and into the sun.

* * *

It was New York City. Definitely New York. Where else could someone pop out of a pothole and walk along like it was nobody's business?

"Freedom!" Leila chuckled, spreading her hands. No one gave her a second glance.

Okay, so maybe Leila's math skills weren't the best, but she was pretty sure it took more than a few days to walk from the Bay Area to New York City.

A nagging suspicion tugged at her. _That was too easy. A door magically leading you out of the Labyrinth? That just spells trouble._

Leila tried to push the feeling out, and she attempted to go with the flow of hundreds of people pushing past her and hurrying to their destinations.

She had stayed in New York City for a while, about a few months. When she was younger, her mom had suddenly moved her from the West Coast to the East.

Leila remembered...

"_Mom, why are we moving? I love California! And Keaton -" _

"_Honey, please. You need to understand. It's too dangerous for us here. But whatever you do, stay away from the Empire State, okay?"_

_Leila nodded, hearing the uncharacteristic firmness in her mother's voice._

Then, something happened that made them move back. Their apartment had exploded. She didn't quite remember how it had happened, but there was a lightning storm, and a massive bolt happened to hit their roof.

"Oi. Move it along, would you?" said a man.

_Bronx_. Leila immediately thought, as she let the guy through. She looked around, trying to get her bearings straight. It seemed like she was in Lower Manhattan, as she recognized the new World Trade Center building under construction.

She didn't know what to do. She started to walk towards the direction of the Hudson River, because it just seemed like the place to go. Leila glanced at a newspaper stand and stopped on her tracks. One month. One month had passed since she had punched the police officer.

How was that possible? She was sure that she had only been gone a few days!

Then, she shook her head. She'd never understand the Labyrinth.

Leila kept her hand in her pocket, curled around her knife, as she stopped at streetlight after streetlight. Something about this place didn't feel right...

After two hours of getting lost and racking her brains, trying to remember which way to go, she finally reached the Hudson.

"Great." she said. "Now, what?"

She wished she hadn't asked that.

* * *

_"Filthy demigod." _someone hissed.

"What the -" she whipped around, and saw the weirdest sight _ever_. Slithering towards her was a creature who was half snake and half woman and half who-knows-what. Octopus? Surrounding Leila was a mob of the monsters, hissing and laughing.

"Now, ladies," she said, her voice trembling, "I'm sure we can work this out."

Fast as light, one of them attacked Leila, and Leila fell to the ground, grasping her right leg.

"Why do I keep getting hurt?" she muttered, grinding her teeth. Then she raised her voice and tried to sound brave. "Who are you, snake and octupus women?"

The creatures laughed, which was super scary, considering that they had forked tongues. "We are the _dracaena_, ssssstupid demigod. And the lasssst sssight you will ever ssseee."

"We'll sssseeee about that!" Leila yelled, kicking out her left leg, and causing one of the _dracaena _to fall on her face.

She took out her knife and slashed it across another one of the uglies, causing it to explode into dust. The _dracaena _weren't laughing anymore. They were snarling and drawing their spears.

_I'm dead. I'm surrounded, thirty to one._

Leila cut and slashed and kicked her way through the mob, but she had no idea how to use the knife. Within minutes, she was slammed to the ground. She managed to roll away as the _dracaena _slammed their spears within inches of her face.

"Ssssurrender now, and perhaps the Lord of Time will sssspare you!"

"I think I'm okay without a watch!" Leila said, stabbing the monster in the foot. Two of the _dracaena_ grabbed Leila's hands and pinned them behind her back.

"Yessss. Ssssshe is powerful. _He_ will be pleasssed."

The _dracaena _took away her knife, and she was powerless.

"Ssssilly demigod. Who is that boy you like sssso much? Keaton?"

Leila's head snapped up. "How -"

"Oh, _he_ knowssss everything. We'll be getting the son of Athena ssssooon enough." the _dracaena _hissed, chuckling.

Leila's vision turned red.

"_Nobody _messes with my friends." she said in such an angry voice that some of the _dracaena _stepped back in fear.

Her eyes clenched tightly shut, and the ground began to shake violently. The waves of the Hudson rose and reached her feet. Her head felt like it was about to explode, and cracks appeared beneath her feet.

The _dracaena _let go of her like her skin was burning.

"Run." Leila hissed. The monsters fled, yelling for their mommies. She scooped up her knife, and sighed with relief. The tug on her gut became stronger and stronger.

_Okay, you can stop now_. Leila thought. _You can STOP NOW!_

The waves were getting higher and higher, and Leila could do nothing to stop them.

She slammed the blade of her knife against the ground, but the ground only shook more powerfully.

"NO!" she screamed in frustration.

A massive wave erupted above her head and sloshed against the docks. Pedestrians yelled and scattered.  
Leila fell to her knees, and covered her face with her hands.

Abruptly, the ground stopped shaking.

She peeked through her fingers, and gasped at the destruction she had caused. Chunks were missing from the walkway. The water's level was still high, and ambulance lights flashed across the city.

"Shoot." she said. She had hurt so many innocent New Yorkers. And maybe people from New Jersey too.

Tears filled her eyes, and she wiped them away with her sleeve. She was such a horrible person. She was worse than the _dracaena_.

Leila ran, ran as fast as she could, whipping around street corners, and dodging police cars. An dark skinned boy crashed into her.

"Carter Kane!" the boy's father scolded, "Let the girl through. She's in a hurry."

The boy got up, brushed off his formal shirt, and mumbled, "Sorry."

For a few seconds, her sea green eyes locked with his chocolate brown ones. She sensed that he was...powerful.

But before she could say anything, the father put an arm around the boy and led him away, pausing to look at Leila warily over his shoulder.

Leila took a deep, rattling breath, and continued her search. She miraculously found the small circular door from which she had come out of the Labyrinth.

She hurriedly touched the delta, and leaped in, feeling that it was better to be trapped in the Labyrinth than hurt any more people.


	7. Choices

******_**Note from the author: I will be altering "The Battle of the Labyrinth" storyline slightly in order to give Leila an active role! You have been warned.**_

_****Also: To all those who have read my spin off on the House of Hades, this is a huge, huge reference to it. **_

* * *

***Two weeks later* **  
Leila cautiously took a step back from the gaping pit. There was a noise coming from the hole, and if she listened hard enough...she could hear someone _laughing_.

Strangely, she felt drawn to the pit. She could hear whispers coming from the hole, whispers of an ancient language...then the room shifted and changed into a dark alley.

She had a deep fear for alleys. There were more than enough in the Bay Area, but she always felt like something would jump out at her any second in those types of places. She raised her bronze sword for light and squinted into the darkness.

"Boo." said a voice next to her ear.

Leila screamed her head off and whipped out her knife. She breathed heavily, keeping her weapon in front of her. No one was there.

She stepped backwards, and something touched her shoulder. In a heartbeat, she locked her knife with the sword which was swinging towards her. She narrowed her eyes, stepping in for leverage, and glared at the owner of the sword.

The owner was a guy in his early twenties. A smirk curled his lips, and his blue eyes surveyed Leila.

"Get away from me." she said in a low voice.

His sword clanged against her knife and he disarmed her in a matter of seconds. Leila scrambled backwards, scooped up her weapon, and started to run away from the guy. But he grasped her arm in an unbreakable hold and said, "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Let go!" Leila snarled. She bit the guy's hand, and he yelled, "OW!", but his grip was still firm.

"Stop struggling! You'll regret it later." he said, scowling.

"You're just another m-monster." Leila said, her throat tightening.

"Trust me, I'm not."

"I can't trust anyone anymore!" she yelled, kicking out her leg and hitting the guy in the thigh.

Rubbing his leg, the guy's eyes softened in understanding.

"I know who you are." he said gently. "You're scared, and you're frightened. But I can help you."

Leila stopped struggling, but she said accusingly, "You just attacked me!"

The guy shrugged. "I needed to disarm you. You could've killed me with that knife of yours."

Experimentally, he lightened his grip on Leila's arm. Leila didn't run. Satisfied, the guy said, "What's your name?"

Leila made a face.

"Ah, you still don't trust me yet. But I know your story. One of your parents abandoned you, and you hate them - and rightfully so. And now you've been dumped in this maze, and you've been left to die." the guy said, putting his sword in his sheath.

Leila was astonished. "How did you-"

"Dad or mom?" he said quietly.

"Dad." she confirmed, her heart filling with hatred. "And, I wasn't _dumped _in the Labyrinth. I chose to come."

"So you know that its all real."

Leila rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do know that by now. But I don't know _why_. And I don't know who _I _am! And no one's bothering to tell me!"

"Join us, Leila. You'll understand everything."

_How did he know her name?_

"Who's 'us'?"

"People like you. People who've been abandoned and left to rot by the gods!" he said, growing more and more passionate. "You know, already. You heard the goddess talking to you, filling your head with junk. She gave you a little pep talk, and then _left _you to be killed in this maze!"

He talked as if...as if he'd been in a similar situation. As if he knew what Leila was going through.

Leila pursed her lips. She hadn't mentioned her conversation with Hestia, so how did the guy know...?

"Have you been spying on me?" she said accusingly.

"More like observing. You're very special, Leila. We'll need someone like you."

Then he muttered, half to himself, "Master will be pleased."

_Master?_

"How the heck did you know my name?" she said, growing more and more suspicious, though she felt flattered that someone had called her special. She viewed herself more as a burden.

"Master has been watching you, Leila. He knows your bitterness towards your father. Get real. Your father doesn't care about you. You'll have a new family."

_A new family..._Leila thought dreamily. But she snapped back into it. She hated how he said everything in the present tense, as if she had already agreed to join him. Leila's hands balled into fists.

"Who's this master you keep talking about?" she demanded. The guy didn't flinch at her change of tone.

"You'll know soon enough. You're lucky you've survived out here long enough. We can train you." the guy said. His offer was sounding more and more attractive, but Leila fought her urge to believe him.

Realization washed over her. "You're just going to use me! And you're _crazy _if you think I'll be serving some _master_!"

His eyes narrowed. "Look. I know who you are. Those earthquakes, that big tsunami last week? Those weren't accidents."

Grief flashed across Leila's face, and her head hung in shame. She remembered the _dracaena. _"The monsters -"

"Doesn't matter why," the guy said sharply. "We can show you how to control your powers. You're special. And you'll end up saving a lot of lives."

Leila looked up at the guy, trying to see if he was serious or not. She could...help people? With her freakish powers? She bit her lip.

Leila was about to join a guy who she didn't know _anything _about, who just popped up out of nowhere and attacked her. But...he looked so friendly. With his sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks...agh! She hadn't had human contact for a long time. What other option did she have? He...understood her. He knew about her. He knew about the selfish jerk who was her father. "What do I have to do?" she finally said.

The guy relaxed visibly, and smiled. "You just have to come with me."

Leila didn't resist as he put a hand on her shoulder and led her into the darkness.

"You - you didn't say what your name was." Leila said.

"Luke. Luke Castellan."


	8. Déjà vu

****Meh. This chapter is short, but I'm curious to see how well I tackled Luke's point of view. What do you think?**

* * *

**Luke's POV**

"Sir, we have reports of a demigod roaming the maze."

A small smile curled Luke's lips. "Is this the one who Master has been keeping a close eye on?"

"Yes, sir."

"Excellent."

With his guard, he followed the soldier to a dark alley, where he spotted the demigod. He ordered his guard to stop. Normally, Luke didn't pay much attention to the half-bloods who joined their cause. But _this _particular girl. Yes, Kronos was eager to have her in the army.

Leila Brooke.

"I want to deal with this one myself." he snarled, but he honestly just didn't want to scare her. He drew Backbiter and inched his way towards her.

"Boo." he said, just to see her reaction.

The demigod turned and screamed.

She had a mesmerizing pair of turquoise eyes with flecks of blue in it. Right now, they were wild with fear. She flashed out a knife and locked it with his sword. _Hmm. Not bad._ She said in a level voice, "Get away from me."

_Not likely_, Luke smirked.

He disarmed her easily. Leila ran backwards, and picked up her knife.

_No! I'm going to lose her! _Luke's hand shot out and he grasped the girl's arm.

"I'm not going to hurt you." he said sincerely. No. He didn't want to hurt her. He wanted to use her. She was so powerful that Luke's skin began to itch. He had only felt that much energy around one other demigod before.

"Let go!" she screamed. To Luke's shock, she bit his hand. "OW!" he yelled, but he refused to let go. Who knows what Kronos would do to him if he did?

"Stop struggling! You'll regret it later." he said sharply.

"You're just another m-monster."

Luke's heart panged. He flashed back to eight years ago.

_No more monsters! _

And instead of the angry green eyes in front of him, he saw a frightened pair of gray ones, large and sparkling with intelligence.

"Trust me, I'm not." Luke said, angry with himself. He shouldn't have thought about Annabeth. Not at this time.

Leila was harder to reel in than most. She had a rebellious personality that wouldn't mix well with Master's.

Finally, after a while of convincing, bribing, and even threatening, she decided to join him.

Luke couldn't stop the smile of satisfaction spreading on his face. Yes, with training, this girl could match up to the pesky son of Poseidon.

After properly introducing himself, he asked a question which had been bothering him for a while - where did she get the knife from?

"Ever heard of Camp Half-Blood?" he said, injecting some venom into the wretched words.

Leila's face paled. Her hand drifted towards her pocket. She tried to pass it off by pretending to brush off her jeans, but Luke noticed.

"No." she said casually.

"Oh?" Luke said, his eyebrows rising.

"Never heard of it. What's a half-blood?"


	9. Claimed

**Keaton's POV**

_"Just - just over the hill." Sage gasped. _

_ Keaton's fingers touched the trunk of the pine tree, and the monster who had been pursuing them snarled and skulked away._

"_We made it!" Keaton said, a grin breaking across his face. "Leila's probably here too!"_

_Sage's eyebrows furrowed together. "Keaton, I've told you. It's extremely unlikely that she's made it to Camp Half-Blood without a guide."_

"_Didn't you say that there's an entrance from the Labyrinth into the camp?"_

_Sage bit her fingernails nervously. "That's top secret information, you shouldn't -"_

"_Leila's smart, Sage. She's probably made it."_

"_Keaton -"_

"_You just _want _her to be dead, don't you?" Keaton said, his rage clouding his ability to think._

"_I never -"_

"_You don't care about her! You don't know her! I do!"_

* * *

Keaton opened his eyes, and sighed, coming out of the memory of his arrival at Camp Half-Blood.

One month.

The amount of time, longer than most demigods, it took for him and Sage to make it to camp. The amount of time he hadn't heard her voice. Or scoffed at her ridiculous comments. Or flushed when she looked at him directly with her intense, sea-green eyes. Leila. His closest friend.

_Thanks for being there for me, Wise Guy. _

The nickname that she had labeled him with was a play on his last name, 'Wyse'. It seemed like a cruel joke, because Keaton felt like an idiot for letting Leila go.

"Kevin, isn't it?" a voice said, interrupting his reverie.

"Keaton." he corrected.

"Dude, it's dinner time. I'm starved." Travis moaned, clutching his stomach.

"Mmm. I'll be there in a few." Keaton said.

"Suit yourself."

Keaton stared at the walls of the Hermes cabin, thinking of the dozens of ways he could've designed it better. He'd been staying in this place for two weeks - waiting for his godly parent to claim him.

He stretched, and got up from his sleeping bag on the floor, wrinkling his nose at the mess surrounding him. He went outside, and gazed at the view of Long Island Sound.

Leila would've loved it here. His heart ached. He didn't even care about being claimed. He just wanted to see his friend again.

Keaton exhaled heavily, and went to the Hermes dinner table. He hated the disorder and crowd of the Hermes table, the pushing and shoving, and the pranking. Oh, he hated the pranking, alright.

He had only been at Camp Half-Blood for two weeks and the Stoll brothers had already attempted to dye his hair pink.

He stuck his fork into his potatoes and twirled them moodily.

"...totally faking. They couldn't have held up the _sky_, for Zeus' sake."

"Come on, he's Percy Jackson. What do you expect?"

Keaton leaned in closer. _Percy Jackson_. That name kept popping up everywhere. Apparently, he had saved the world in December by defeating Atlas, the Titan who held up the sky. The son of Poseidon wasn't at camp right now, because he only stayed during the summer.

"C'mon, Calvin Whine. Time to go to the sing-along."

"Keaton Wyse."

"Yeah, whatever."

Lost in his thoughts, Keaton walked to the campfire. As he took his seat, he watched Chiron carefully. Chiron had just come back from some top-secret trip, and he hadn't met Keaton yet.  
After the sing-along, the centaur patted Keaton on the shoulder and smiled at him. "A new camper?" he inquired.

"Yes, sir." Keaton said respectfully.

Chiron's expression became more serious, and he said, "Mr. Wyse, I have been hearing disturbing rumors that -"

Suddenly, he stopped.

"That?" Keaton prompted.

Chiron pointed above Keaton's head and announced, "It has been determined."

Campers gasped and whispered to each other, staring at him.

_Huh? _Keaton looked above him, and he saw the symbol of a gray owl, glowing above his head.

Chiron said gravely, "Hail, Keaton Wyse, son of the Gray-Eyed one. Goddess of wisdom and warfare, patron of the arts."


	10. Obedience

**Keaton's POV**  
"I brought you here today to discuss with you a disturbing matter." the old centaur said soberly.

"Sir?" Keaton said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He had never been in the Big House before.

"Keaton, I have heard that you had a companion with you at your school. Leila Brooke, also a demigod?"

_Leila? A demigod? _Keaton thought. He stared into his mug of hot chocolate. Well, she wasn't the most athletic person on earth, but she did have a certain aura of power.

"Yes. I - I think she was a demigod. Sir." Keaton said hesitantly.

"Tell me what happened to her."

Keaton's throat constricted, and he was unable to speak for a few moments.

"I - she -" he shook his head.

"I understand you were quite close to her." Chiron said kindly.

"Best friends." Keaton lips formed the words, but no sound came out.

He cleared his throat, and started to say, "Well...it all began when Leila destroyed the supply room at our preschool."

Keaton went on to talk about Leila, about how they had known each other since they were little, and the weird stuff that happened to her. When he got to the part about when she had suddenly moved to New York City, the centaur made a noise in the back of his throat.

"New York?" Chiron said sharply, sitting up in his wheelchair.

"Yes, sir."

"Why did she move back?"

"A lightning storm, sir. A stray bolt obliterated their apartment."

Chiron stroked his chin, muttering, "Stray? I sincerely doubt that."

Keaton finished the story, talking about how Leila had discovered an entrance to the Labyrinth in their school's construction site. How Sage had seen her jump in it when the police officers were pursuing her.

"She's alive, though." Keaton said confidently.

Chiron stared at him. "My dear boy, the Labyrinth -"

"Yes, I know. It's a confusing, complicated maze which can drive people insane and can cause horrible deaths. But I _know _she's alive."

Chiron raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Keaton was unable to explain further, and Chiron didn't pressure him to do so.

"Percy thought the same about Annabeth," Chiron mused. "And he was right. But that is very rare, especially for a half-blood."

Keaton dug out a photo which he had been keeping in his pocket.

"Sir, I have a photo of her. Maybe - Maybe, you could...?" he trailed off.

Chiron took the photo and studied it. It was the type of photo that you take in those booths at the mall. He, Sage and Leila had gone one day and made ridiculous faces in front of the camera. Keaton had tucked it in his backpack, and forgotten about it until he emptied his pack at camp.

The centaur's brown eyes widened. His back straightened abruptly like he'd had a shock running through his spine, and he said, "Sage tried to tell me this, but I refused to believe him. Why, she has a remarkable similarity to..."

"To whom, sir?"

Chiron was about to answer, but his eyes unfocused for a moment. As if someone else was controlling his hand, his fingers unclenched themselves from the photo, one by one. It fluttered to the floor, and Chiron suddenly changed the subject, saying amiably, "So, how are you enjoying camp so far, Mr. Wyse?"

"Sir, weren't we just talking about -"

"Remember not to stay out past curfew! The harpies can be quite dangerous." He rattled on about the camp schedule, the history of the cabins, and interesting facts about the gods.

Keaton's patience reached its breaking point, and he said furiously, "Chiron! We were just talking about Leila!" He thrust the photo under Chiron's nose.

Chiron's eyes refocused, and he cursed. "_Di immortales! _Something is stopping me from telling you -" His eyes skipped nervously around the room, looking for something he couldn't see.

"Well, at least you could tell me what you think happened to her!"

"Who knows?" the centaur murmured, regaining the faraway voice that angered Keaton. "The Labyrinth is an unpredictable place. Let's just pray to the gods that she finds a way out of it. And in one piece."

* * *

**Leila's POV**  
***Three weeks later***  
"Come on, Leila! Keep your guard up!" Luke yelled, sweat soaking his shirt.

Leila's sword clattered out of her hand for the fifth time that day.

He sighed in disappointment, and sheathed his sword. For some reason, Luke had decided to personally train Leila. She didn't like that. He was a master swordsman, and she - well, she could barely lift her sword.

"That wasn't good enough, Brooke." Luke said, frowning.

"I _realize _that, Castellan." Leila said through gritted teeth.

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't call me by my last name."

"Don't call me by mine."

"You're so infuriating!" Luke said, his jaw tense. "Be sure not to talk back to Master with that big mouth of yours."

"You must be great at parties." Leila muttered. Then, she added curiously, "Speaking of Master, when do I get to meet him?"

"When you can actually defend yourself."

He eyed Leila, waiting for a comeback, but it didn't come.

Leila had decided against asking whether she could just use her knife. Luke hadn't had the chance of observing her dagger up close yet, and notice the inscription on the handle. The phrase, 'Camp Half-Blood' was enough to make anyone around here flip out.

* * *

**Luke's POV**

"Our base has grown in size, Master. Over ten new recruits within the last two weeks."

"_Excellent." _said an icy voice that Luke still couldn't get used to. _"And our special new recruit?"_

Luke bit his tongue. "I'm working on it."

_"If you know what is good for you, you will have Leila Brooke equivalent to the scum of Poseidon within a week!" _Kronos said with a hostility that made Luke's spine tingle.

"I'm trying, Master. She's very...difficult to work with. I still don't know what her parentage is."

Kronos laughed. "_Oh, yes. My children cannot keep their promises, can they?"_

Luke's mouth felt like it was filled with sand. "Big Three?" he said in astonishment.

Making no effort to deny it, the Titan continued, "_I want her to be a killing machine. No compassion. After all, that is Jackson's weakness on the battlefield."_

"She still hasn't dedicated herself to our cause."

"_Then make her. You know the consequences, Luke Castellan."_

The golden light faded, and Luke was left sitting in front of the coffin, contemplating the different ways to bend Leila's mind to his master's will.


	11. Desperation

**Leila's POV**

Leila woke up to a bucket of ice cold water.

"What the hell?" she sputtered.

"Watch the language." the attacker warned. "You're what? Twelve?"

"You would say the same if someone threw water on you at..." - she checked the time and groaned - "three in the morning."

"You're a heavy sleeper."

"But was the water necessary?" She forced her eyes opened and unsuccessfully tried to glare at Luke.

"No." Luke admitted. Then he added sharply, "Come on, Brooke. I'm prepared to get another bucket of water - this time boiling hot."

Leila's mouth dropped open, and she studied Luke's face. He was dead serious.

"Okay, okay. I'm up." she said, tying her hair back.

"Get your sword. Meet me in the arena. Be there in five minutes flat." Luke stormed out of the room.

Leila stared at his retreating figure, wondering what brought on the desperate behavior.

* * *

**Luke's POV**

Leila took three minutes to get to the arena.

Luke smirked. The water treatment worked every time.

"Okay, what?" Leila said, folding her arms. He exhaled. He knew he was in trouble when Leila got that defiant look on her face.

Luke could have tortured her until she was compliant. He could have threatened her, blackmailed her, bribed her, but something told her that he needed to be careful with her.

She was a daughter of one of the Big Three, so Luke needed to keep up the 'nice-guy' facade to keep her on his side. He was still boiling with jealousy at the special treatment she got from Master, but he tried to keep it under control.

Luke still had the special role to fulfill, the role that would bring Kronos to power.

"Well?" Leila demanded.

"Fifty push ups."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Grumbling, Leila got on the ground and got to five push ups before her spindly arms failed her.

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. This was going to be harder than he thought.

As if she could read his mind, Leila said, "Well, you're twenty and I'm twelve! What did you expect?"

"Get up." he said shortly. Leila didn't move. "Please." he added reluctantly.

If he had to keep this up anymore, he was going to throttle her, Big Three material or not.

Leila got up, and narrowed her sea-green eyes at Luke. Her rebellious expression was enough to break Luke's 'nice guy' cover.

"Do you think this is a joke?" he snarled, putting his sword tip at her chin.

Leila didn't flinch. She glowered at Luke boldly and said, "Yes, I do. What's happened to you, Luke?"

"What's happened to _you_? There's a war going on, you're supposed to be our front line soldier, and I can beat you at a fight blindfolded! You're useless!"

Leila's expression darkened. Before Luke knew what was going on, he was on the floor, and Leila had her sword at his throat.

"No one calls me useless." she growled.

Luke shoved Leila, and said, "Try me."

She swung her sword and it clanged against Luke's so hard that his arm reverberated. He resisted his urge to smirk. Leila's hatred was a powerful weapon.

Luke stabbed towards her stomach experimentally, and her sword automatically moved down to meet his. His eyes widened. Her fighting style reminded him of...no. It couldn't be.

He slashed at Leila's arm, and a cut opened where he struck.

"Ow!" she yelled, dropping her sword and cussing so loudly that Luke winced.

"Keep still." Luke instructed. He grabbed the bucket of water at his side and threw it at her arm.

Her pained expression lifted. She stared at her arm. The wound rapidly shrunk and faded.

"Magic water." she muttered to herself.

"No," Luke said in astonishment. "Poseidon. Y-you're a daughter of Poseidon!"

He scrambled backwards. There couldn't be another one. No. Not another brat of the sea god.

Leaving Leila standing in a dry circle of water, Luke ran out of the arena, desperate to try and get away from his problems.


	12. Truth and Lies

****This is a pretty fast-paced chapter. I tried to take on Ethan's point of view and it's pretty short. But I had a lot of fun writing out of my comfort zone. How do you think I did?**

****Also: I've hit a writer's block. *sigh* If anyone has any suggestions/ideas, I'd be more than grateful to hear them!**

* * *

**Ethan's POV**

***The next day***

Ethan kneeled on the floor of the armor room, polishing shields, breastplates, and swords. His arms ached. This job was humiliating, but he had to start somewhere, right?

"Hey. You're new here, right?" said a friendly voice.

Ethan looked up in surprise. He saw a girl with piercing sea-green eyes, framed by dark hair that cascaded down her shoulders. Even in the dim light of the room, her tanned skin seemed to glow.

"I'm Leila Brooke." she said, holding out her hand.

Ethan scowled, and said, "Nakamura." He went back to his cleaning. He _refused _to talk to this scrawny twelve year old.

Leila put her hands on her hips and scowled back at him. "That's not your first name."

"How would you know?" he snarled.

"Because I'm incredibly smart." she said.

Ethan raised his eyebrows.

"What?" Leila said, pretending to be insulted. "Fine. I heard it from Zeke who heard it from Jaiden who heard it from a _empousa_. Are you satisfied, Nakamura Ethan?"

A smile creeped on his lips. She was way younger than he was, and she was kind of annoying. But at least she had a sense of humor, and didn't have the sneering expression that most demigods had when they looked at him.

"Want to come to the arena to practice?" she said, tilting her head to the side.

Ethan sighed. "I have to finish cleaning this junk." he muttered, embarrassed.

"Are you serious? They must clean that stuff at least twice a day with all the new recruits coming in." Leila scoffed. She added temptingly, "No one will notice."

He looked at the piles of gleaming armor, and back at the exit.

"Fine." he said, relenting.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

***Three days later***

"And then, I said, 'Waiter, I asked for a-ROMATIC duck!'"

The demigods collapsed on the floor, laughing and clutching their guts.

"Leila, where did you _get _these jokes from?" Jaiden asked, wiping his eyes.

She shrugged. "It's a gift."

Leila looked around at the mob of half-bloods surrounding her. It was crowded and noisy here at the base in Mount Tam. Monsters roamed around the place, freaking her out on a daily basis. Training ran from around five in the morning to seven in the evening. If you complained, you were punished. She absolutely loved it.

Okay, maybe not the 'complain and die' policy, but the demigods.

There were easily more than forty. To her embarrassment, she was one of the only girls among them, but the guys were like her personal bodyguards. They were nice and understanding. Well, most of them were.

Internally, she shook her head with disgust. The gods had abandoned this many kids? Disgraceful.

"So, what side?" asked Ethan, keeping his dark eye on the sword he was sharpening.

Leila immediately understood Ethan's question. "Dad's." she sighed.

On every face was a mixture of pity and anger.

"The gods are nitwits." Jaiden said comfortingly.

"Did you come from Camp Half-Deaf and Dumb?" Zeke asked, wrinkling up his nose. He had auburn hair and gray eyes that always filled her with a sense of sadness.

They were the exact same shade as Keaton's.

"No, I didn't come from Camp Half-Blood." Leila said, correcting him. "Can someone tell me what exactly that place is?"

Smiles melted off every person's face.

Jaiden said quietly, "It's horrible. The gods dump their kids there and leave them to make their way as best as possible. Most people are stuffed in the Hermes cabin because the gods forget about most of us. The campers are brainwashed."

Keira, a normally cheerful girl, said angrily, "And they don't even acknowledge the other goddesses! Like Hecate! No cabin, at all! Do you have any idea how long I was in the Hermes cabin?"

Zeke and Jaiden said in a chorus, "Two years."

The half-bloods glared at Leila, silently daring her to argue.

"Okay, okay, I get it." Leila said, raising her hands in surrender. "Is that why we're occupying camp in the summer?"

"Are you serious?" said Keira, her eyebrows raised. "_Occupying _camp? You make it sound so nice. We're destroying the camp."

"Whoa, whoa wait. What?"

Zeke rolled his eyes. "The camp_ is _the enemy, Leila. Get with the times."

_Property of Camp Half-Blood. _The knife felt like it was burning a hole in her pocket.

"But we're going to, you know, spare the demigods, right?" she said nervously.

"They're not worth saving. Believe me." Ethan said, his face hardening.

Leila knit her eyebrows together. "Not worth -"

"Hasn't Luke told you _anything_?" Zeke asked.

But Leila was already gone.

* * *

**Luke's POV**

_"And strengthen the girl's powers. She must be in full control of them when she leads the attack on the blasted camp."_

"Yes, Master." Luke murmured.

"You _LIED _to me!" said a voice that definitely wasn't coming from the coffin.

"Wha-" Luke turned around in surprise.

A sword came swinging at him out of nowhere. Luke rolled out of the way and drew Backbiter.

"Leila, stop it!" Luke yelled. He easily deflected her blows, but Leila was always a better swordfighter when she was angry.

"No, _you_ stop it! I can't believe you're killing all those half-bloods!" she said furiously, her eyes wild with fury.

_She found out. _he thought, silently cursing the demigods who told her.

"They're evil! They support the gods!" Luke said, but looking at Leila's betrayed expression, he found it difficult to say the carefully rehearsed lines.

"They're not evil! They're just like you and me! They have families and friends and -" Her sword ripped through his _chiton_.

"Just like _you and me_?" he scoffed, jabbing at her left side. "They're defending the cause you're fighting against!"

"Just because they're brainwashed doesn't mean you have to kill them!"

Luke slammed the sword out of Leila's hand and put the blade of Backbiter at her throat.

"Are you having second thoughts?" he hissed. "You swore your loyalty to me, Brooke. You _hate _the gods. And you _will _stand by me when I destroy the Olympian seats of power next summer. And you _will_ support Kronos' rise to power."

"You can't tell me what to do!" she said with equal ferocity.

_"But I can." _said a chilling voice from the golden coffin.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Leila stumbled backwards. "I-Is that...?"

"_Yes. The Lord of Time himself. Come closer."_

Against her will, Leila moved forward, and she slowly moved towards the coffin, her hands outstretched.

Kronos. Kronos was speaking to _her_.

Her fingertips touched the lid. A searing pain shot up her arm.

Leila screamed and tried to yank her hand backwards, but the same force kept her glued to the coffin. Golden smoke curled from her arm.

She gasped as she saw, burned onto her right forearm, a dark tattoo of a scythe. The symbol of Kronos. She heard Luke exhale sharply behind her.

The Titan chuckled. _"You serve _me, _daughter of Poseidon. You may argue on certain matters with Luke Castellan, but your loyalty always lies with me."_

"Y-yes Master." Leila said, scared out of her mind.

His voice became more hostile, and he said, _"This was your choice. You _will _train and lead the attack on Camp Half-Blood. And you _will_ kill Percy Jackson."_

"Percy... Jackson?" she choked.

_"Yes. Your dear brother. But feel no family attachment to him, Leila Brooke. He will always be on the side of the pathetic Olympians and nothing you do will change that. He is, in fact, the one who killed your family."_

"What?" she said, her heart sinking.

_"Show her, Castellan._"

Luke approached the fountain which stood in the corner of the room, fished out a golden coin, and threw it into the mist.

"Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me the enemy." he commanded.

The mist shimmered, and there was an image of Mount St. Helens exploding forcefully, lava oozing out of the crater, dark smoke blocking the sun.

With a sense of dread, Leila immediately understood.

Her grandparents lived in Washington for as long as she could remember. And only a few miles from Mount St. Helens.

"No." she murmured. The image zoomed in on a boy, tiny in comparison, flying into the sky, smoke and lava whirling behind him. Yes, there was no doubt that this boy was...Percy Jackson.

The image shifted and she saw her grandparents sitting with her mom at the kitchen table.

"Honey, I'm sure she'll come back. Leila's a smart kid." Grandma said, patting her daughter's hand.

Her mom said shakily, "I-I know. It's just...If I had told her about Camp Half-Blood earlier, she might hav -"

Her statement was cut off as Grandpa yelled, "Get under the table, NOW!"

The lights swung wildly and they all huddled underneath a table, holding each other's hands.

The ground shook violently from the eruption that the son of Poseidon had caused. They said their last "I love you's" to each other before the roof collapsed, burying them in rubble.

"NO!" she howled, falling to her knees. She made no attempt to wipe off the tears which were pouring down her face.

Her grandparents. Her mom. They were her buddies. They loved her and supported her and taught her how to ride her bike and...and now they were dead. She had just lost the only family she had left.

_"What do you say now, Leila?_"

She narrowed her eyes in rage and glared at the coffin. "I _will_ kill Percy Jackson." she vowed.


	13. Promise?

****I'm sorry guys, it took me a while to write this chapter. It was especially difficult because I didn't get any of the suggestions I requested from last time. Anyway, I apologize that this is lower quality than my other chapters, I've been so busy lately. (Ugh, high school)**

****ALSO: Here comes the confusing part in which I merge 'Battle of the Labyrinth' with this story. Please, no flames when it comes to parts in which I cut out entire scenes in order for certain things to happen. Don't worry, I won't take out any important parts of the book. Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Keaton's POV **

_A girl with armor and a bronze sword hanging at her waist faced the sea, breathing in deeply. Her dark hair whipped around her with the strong breeze. At a distance, a tall man with blond hair and a scar running down the left side of his face watched her warily from a distance. His eyes glinted with greed._

_The girl turned and looked at the man. Her eyes, outlined with dark eyeliner, glowed with power._

_ Wordlessly, the man attacked her. The girl thrust her hand in the air, and a huge wave erupted out of the sea and doused the guy in sea water. The guy slashed at her chest, and the girl moved her hands to side. The water whipped the guy in the face, giving him a good sized cut._

_ "I'm so sorry, Luke!" the girl's arms relaxed for a moment, and the guy, Luke, took advantage of the moment and slashed his sword at her neck._

_ "No compassion." Luke snarled. "Aim to kill, and not just to injure."_

_ "That's - that's inhumane." the girl said, backing away slightly. Suddenly, she gasped and clutched a tattoo branded on her forearm. With her face contorted with pain, she paused for a moment, as if she was listening to a voice in her head._

_ Her expression shifted from indecision to firm resolve._

_ The girl clenched her fist and the water responded, shaping itself into a massive fist. Leila swiped it downwards, and the water knocked Luke off his feet._

_ "No compassion." she muttered to herself. The girl turned and looked at Keaton directly._

_"No compassion." she said again as she whipped the water across Keaton's face._

Keaton gasped and clutched at his face, making sure it was still there. His heart beat rapidly and his eyes darted around the dark room. At that moment, he was acutely aware of three things.

The girl in his dream was Leila Brooke.

She was a daughter of Poseidon.

And she was in _huge _trouble.

* * *

**Percy's POV**  
Just after dawn, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist. Percy had packed his knapsack - thermos with nectar, baggie of ambrosia, bedroll, rope, clothes, flashlights, and lots of extra batteries. He had Riptide in his pocket. The magic shield/wristwatch Tyson had made for him was on his wrist.

It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue. Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall. Meanwhile, Percy and the group would be heading underground.

Percy watched Juniper fussing with Grover's clothes, straightening his rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt. He heard someone gasping behind him.

"Percy!" someone shouted.

He turned around in surprise and saw one of the new campers running towards him. He was still in his pajamas and he was barefoot, so he must have come straight out of bed.

"Percy." the guy repeated, catching his breath.

"Relax, man. I'm not going anywhere," Percy said. As an afterthought he added, "Yet."

He studied the camper's face and recognized him as a son of Athena, with the signature gray eyes. What was his name? Kevin? No, Keaton.

"Before you go, I have a favor to ask from you." Keaton said, his eyebrows furrowing together in the same way that Annabeth's did.

Percy immediately said, "Yeah, anything."

"Leila Brooke. She's a demigod. She disappeared in the Labyrinth over two months ago. It would mean the world to me if-"

"If I kept an eye out for her." Percy finished.

Keaton nodded in relief. "Please. She's my best friend."

Percy patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. What does she look like?"

Keaton opened his mouth, about to launch into a full-scale description, but clamped his mouth shut. His gray eyes lost their intensity and unfocused.

A cold chill ran up Percy's spine and for a moment, he could feel another hostile presence among them.

Keaton's eyes glazed over. "I - I can't remember." he said, confused.

"What? I thought you just said that she was your best friend!" Percy exclaimed, shocked.

Keaton ran his fingers through his black hair in frustration. "I don't know! I just, I had her in my mind, and it's gone. I had a dream about her too, and I can't remember that either. The same thing happened to...to Chiron." His eyes widened.

"She's in major trouble. I-I can feel it." he looked around nervously. "Something's keeping me from talking about her. Please, just...just try. I know it's too much to ask for, but I -" Keaton shook his head helplessly.

Percy thought that he couldn't have enough on his plate. He had had a dream about Luke and Kronos last night which was still freaking him out, plus he had a life endangering quest that he was going on. But, he could relate to Keaton's situation. Last winter, Annabeth had disappeared for a while and it had driven him crazy with worry.

"I'll try the best I can." Percy said carefully. He didn't want to make any promises. Those just ended badly, especially with the case of Nico and Bianca.

Keaton nodded hopelessly and turned back to his cabin. "Thanks, Percy." he said over his shoulder.

Percy gazed at Annabeth doing one last check on her supply pack. When he and Tyson came over, she frowned. "Percy, you look terrible."

"He killed the water fountain last night." Tyson confided.

"What?" she asked.

Before Percy could explain, Chiron trotted over. "Well, it appears that you are ready!"


	14. The Arena

*****Okay, MAJOR merging of the two stories in this chapter. I DO NOT OWN "Battle of the Labyrinth" and Percy, Annabeth, Luke, or Rachel, though I wish I do. A HUGE reference to my spin-off of 'The House of Hades' is in this chapter! ****This is the part in which Percy, Annabeth and Rachel wind up in that arena in which Percy defeats Antaeus. The next few chapters will contain darker elements and not as much humor. *sigh***

****Also, I know you hate it when authors say this, but I honestly need reviews. I'm not asking for praise or anything like that, just criticism. I don't know what I need to work on in my stories, and I really want to improve my writing.**

**Anyway, rant over. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Leila's POV**  
***Two months later***

"Luke." Percy Jackson said over the roar of the crowd.

Leila's hands clenched into fists. She started to grab her sword, but Luke gave her a look.

_Patience. _His expression said. _You'll get your chance to gut him later._

"Percy." Luke said genially. "I'm afraid I'll have to kill you today. I don't have any use for you anymore. Your sister has been quite...convenient."

"Sister?" Jackson said, his jaw dropping.

Luke glanced at me. "Yes. Leila Brooke. Very powerful, perhaps more powerful than you. Good thing we got to her before your cursed camp did."

Jackson locked eyes with Leila, and his eyes flashed with recognition.

"Let her go!" he yelled.

_Let her go? _He was such an idiot. Couldn't he see that she _wanted _to be here?

Luke smirked and ignored Jackson's shouts.

Leila focused her attention on the battle in the arena.

Not such a long time ago, she was the girl who would have closed her eyes in disgust at the sight of a centaur being mauled by a giant. Not such a long time ago, she was the girl who would have jumped in front of the innocent creature and brought down the giant herself, screaming injustice. Not so long ago, she would have killed the _dracaena _holding the innocent red-headed mortal in a heartbeat.

But she doesn't recognize that girl now.

Months of non-stop training had hardened her. Master had shown her what she really was, what she was capable of, what she was born to do. To bring down the gods. And more importantly, to bring down Percy Jackson.

As much as Kronos had changed her, Leila refused to shout with crowd, who were yelling, "DEATH! DEATH!"

Jackson closed his eyes and turned his head away as the gladiator giant thrust his javelin into the centaur's chest. Luke didn't flinch. And neither did Leila.

"Good entertainment!" Antaeus bellowed. "But nothing I haven't seen before. What else do you have, Luke, Son of Hermes?"

Luke stiffened beside her. But she knew that he wouldn't attack the stupid sumo guy. He already had Ariadne's string. The inventor had been compliant enough.

"Lord Antaeus," Luke said, forcing a genial tone, "You have been an excellent host! We would be happy to amuse you, to repay the favor of passing through your territory."

"A favor I have not yet granted," Antaeus growled. "I want entertainment!"

Luke bowed. "I believe I have something better than centaurs to fight in your arena now. I have a brother of yours." He pointed below. "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

Leila was gripping her sword handle so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"Luke," she muttered. "Please."

"Hold on, Brooke. Your time's coming." he murmured.

Leila watched Jackson dodge the stones that the crowd was throwing at him.

Antaeus's eyes lit up. "A son of Poseidon? Then he should fight well! Or die well!

_Die well. _

"If his death pleases you," Luke said, "will you let our armies cross your territory?"

"Perhaps!" Antaeus said.

Luke didn't look too pleased about the "perhaps", and he glared at Jackson.

"Luke!" the blond one yelled. "Stop this. Let us go!"

"Annabeth?" Luke choked.

_The girl from my dream. _

"Enough time for females to fight afterward," Antaeus interrupted. "First, Percy Jackson, what weapons will you choose?"

The _dracaena _pushed Jackson into the middle of the arena. He glared at Antaeus, "How can you be a son of Poseidon?"

_I wish I wasn't._

"I am his favorite son!" Antaeus boomed. "Behold, my temple to the Earthshaker, built from the skulls of all those I've killed in his name! Your skull shall join them!"

Leila watched as Jackson quickly defeated a _dracaena _for round one. He was good with the sword, she had to give him that.

Her breath hitched as she saw Ethan face him for round two. She grit her teeth as Jackson disarmed Ethan and put his sword at his neck.

To her shock, he didn't kill Ethan. "Forget it." Jackson sheathed his sword.

"Don't be a fool." Ethan said, his face covered in sweat. "They'll just kill us both."

He was right, of course.

Jackson offered Ethan his hand. Ethan scowled at it for a moment, but then took it, hoisting himself up. Jackson muttered something to Ethan before yelling at Antaeus, "Why don't you just fight me yourself? If you've got Dad's favor, come down here and prove it!"

Was he insane, or brave? Or insanely brave?

To prove this point, Antaeus warned, "I am the greatest wrestler, boy. I have been wrestling since the first _pankration_!"

A worry found its place in the back of Leila's mind as she watched Jackson tie Antaeus up in chains at the top of the arena and kill him.

Luke roared, "Jackson! I should have killed you long ago!"

"You tried," Jackson said. "Let us go, Luke. We had a sworn agreement with Antaeus. I'm the winner."

His eyes bore into Leila's again, as if he was trying to convey a secret message. Leila looked away in disgust.

Luke said, "Antaeus is dead. His oath dies with him. But since I'm feeling merciful today, I'll have you killed quickly."

He pointed at the blonde. "Spare the girl. I would speak to her before - before our great triumph."

Along with every monster in the audience, Leila drew her sword. She grinned fiercely.

Jackson, the blonde one, and the redhead looked around with frightened eyes.

Then, Jackson did something that shocked everyone in the audience, Leila included. He took a whistle out of his pocket and blew. It made no audible sound and it shattered into shards of ice.

Luke laughed. "What was that supposed to do?"

Leila wished he hadn't asked.

"_AROOOOF!"_

Kelli the _empousa _screamed as a huge hellhound picked her up and tossed her through the air.

Leila's forearm was, for a moment, enveloped with pain.

_After them. Show no mercy, _a cold voice said in her mind.

She hated the voice of Master in her head, always watching her, always telling her what to do. But she learnt over the months that she had no choice. She had to obey quickly, or pay the price.

Leila dodged monsters, the hellhound and disintegrating creatures as she ran for Jackson and his companions. Ethan ran too, racing towards across the arena and out the far exit. Leila followed them, her heart filling with a sense of dread.

She was going back into the Labyrinth.

* * *

It was dark in the Labyrinth. So dark, that Leila's flashlight didn't seem to pierce the gloom at all. Finally, she saw him. The demigod that Master was looking for.

Leila drew her sword and attacked the tall boy with dark hair and green eyes - the boy who looked so very much like her.

The boy easily deflected her blow, but she could see that they were evenly matched. She knew his moves, and he knew hers. But Leila was aiming to kill, and the boy to injure. Eventually, she got the upper hand and the boy fell, grasping his leg.

She hadn't realized that he had someone with him - the girl with blonde hair and intelligent gray eyes. The girl slammed her in the back with the flat of a dagger, and Leila collapsed.

"Don't hurt her, Annabeth." the boy gasped.

"Percy, she serves Kronos. Why shouldn't I?" the girl demanded.

"Because she's my sister."


	15. The Start of Something New

****48 reviews?! I love you guys! **

****The next chapter's going to take a while to write; Leila's getting to be a complicated character. **

* * *

Leila, feigning injury, kicked out her leg and tripped the blonde, Annabeth. Annabeth stumbled and unsuccessfully tried to regain her balance.

Leila growled and attacked Jackson again.

"Stop!" he yelled. "We're not going to hurt you!"

She laughed once, a harsh sound that didn't sound like herself.

Jackson's eyes narrowed and he pushed Leila harder, stabbing and deflecting. "Leila, why are you attacking us?" he implored.

She lost her head then. She slammed the sword out of Jackson's hand and put the tip at his neck.

"Don't you _dare _say my name! _Why _am I attacking you? You RUINED my life, Jackson!" She swung her sword downwards, but a dagger flashed out and caught it before it could make contact with that miserable face.

"Can we talk about this in a dignified manner?" Annabeth said, her gray eyes stormy with anger. Gray eyes...gray eyes with the same intensity and shade as Keaton's.

Leila's sword arm faltered for a moment, and Annabeth took advantage of the moment by disarming her.

_Stupid girl! _Master's voice said in her head. _Forget about that brat of Athena. Kill the boy!_

Leila's arm moved against her will, and she punched Annabeth in the face.

Jackson roared in rage.

She scrambled backwards and tried to pick up her sword, but another girl flew out of the shadows and grabbed her wrists.

The redhead.

Annabeth recovered her wits enough to pick up Leila and push her against the wall. She put the flat of her blade at Leila's neck.

"Give me a reason to not kill you right now." Annabeth snarled.

Leila glared at her, unafraid. "You heard Jackson. I'm his sweet little sister." she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Leila, stop this." Jackson commanded, "The only reason why we're not hurting you is because you're friends with one of our campers. Have you forgotten him already? Keaton, the son of Athena."

* * *

**Percy's POV**

At the name _Keaton_, the anger and hate in Leila's eyes melted away. A ghost of a smile curved her lips. For a moment, the mask of animosity was lifted and Percy saw what he was guessing was the true Leila: a cheerful, pretty girl, with a sunny character and a future full of hope and possibility.

"Keaton?" she said softly, tilting her head.

Percy nodded, not knowing whether to be shocked by her sudden personality transformation or to be satisfied that she was finally listening.

Leila gasped, and something glowed golden on her forearm. The tattoo of the scythe.

She clenched her eyes shut in agony, and when she opened them again, the expression of a ferocious warrior had returned to her face. Percy wasn't sure if it was his tired brain playing tricks on him, but he could have sworn he had seen a trace of gold in her eyes.

Leila kicked wildly, struggling to get to Percy.

"You killed my mom! You killed my grandparents!" she shrieked at him.

"What? I never -" he started to say, shocked.

"Don't try to lie to me, Jackson! I saw it! Your little eruption in Washington wiped out the only family I had left!" Leila said.

She bit Annabeth's hand. Annabeth screamed and jerked her hand back.

Rachel tried to jump into her way, but Leila shoved her aside and stalked towards Percy.

She was probably one of the most terrifying sights he had ever seen. Her helmet had been knocked off her head, so her long dark hair covered her face. Her sea-green eyes, glowing with fury, were emphasized by the dark eye makeup she wore.

Leila patted her waist for her sword, but it was still next to Rachel. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a knife.

Percy drew his sword, prepared for a fight, but a worry tugged at his heart.

_Did I really kill her family? _He already felt guilty about displacing thousands of people when he destroyed Hephaestus' forges, but he had never...killed anyone before. At least, not any mortals.

For someone with a smaller weapon than he did, Leila was a very, very good fighter. Percy's eyes were drawn to the tattoo on her forearm, the symbol that marked her as a servant of Kronos.

Leila exhaled sharply as Annabeth grabbed her from behind. Rachel kept her pinned down as Annabeth tied her hands and ankles together with rope.

"This doesn't change _anything_." Leila hissed, glaring accusingly at Percy. "You're still a monster!"

She flailed and writhed in her bonds, and Annabeth exchanged a look with Percy.

"She's beyond reason." Annabeth sighed. "I say we take her to Chiron and force her to tell us what Luke's plans are."

Rachel bit her lip but didn't say anything, glancing worriedly into the dark tunnel ahead.

Percy shook his head. "Guys, she's Keaton's best friend. I don't think she was like this before. Luke changed her. Kronos changed her."

"For the better." Leila said, scowling at him.

Annabeth picked up Leila's weapons, studying them.

"Hey!" she suddenly said, "_Property of Camp Half-Blood_. This knife is from camp!"

"Don't touch that!" Leila snapped.

Percy took the knife from Annabeth and studied it. Sure enough, inscribed into the handle was, "Ακίνητα του αίματος ήμισυ στρατόπεδο". Percy's Greek had never been great, but he could see the words, 'Camp' and 'Property' floating around in there.

"What a hypocrite," Annabeth scowled, turning to Leila, "You're fighting against our camp using _our_ weapons."

Leila's eyes grew misty. She said softly, "It's - it's the only thing I have left from my mom. She gave it to me, long ago. I didn't have the heart to throw it out, even when Master -"

She gasped again, twitching and falling to the floor. Her tattoo glowed golden once more and she banged her head against the ground in agony.

"Kronos is controlling her!" Rachel exclaimed. "The scythe symbol on her arm!"

Leila snarled and strained her hands against the bonds. Annabeth brought out her dagger. Percy winced as she slammed the butt of it on Leila's head.

Her screams quieted.

Annabeth glared at him. She said, "Percy, I understand that she's your sister, but she's out of control. She's bent on killing you, and we just can't risk taking her with us. We'll just having to leave her here -"

" - to die?" Percy said. "That wouldn't be right."

He would _not_ give up on Leila Brooke. He had already failed to protect Bianca, and he wouldn't let down Keaton in the same way.

Percy looked at Annabeth and Rachel's faces, and realized how exhausted they were.

He decided, "Let's make camp. We'll figure this out in the morning."

He found some scrap wood and they started a fire. Shadows danced off the columns, rising around them like trees.

"Something was wrong with Luke," Annabeth muttered, poking at the fire with her knife. "Did you notice the way he was acting?"

"He looked pretty pleased to me," Percy said. "Like he'd spent a nice day torturing heroes."

"That's not true! There was something wrong with him. He looked...nervous. He told his monsters to spare me. He wanted to tell me something."

"Probably, '_Hi, Annabeth! Sit here with me and watch while I tear your friends apart. It'll be fun!'"_

"You're impossible," Annabeth grumbled. She sheathed her dagger and looked at Rachel. "So which way now, Sacajawea?"

Rachel didn't respond right away. Now, whenever Annabeth made a sarcastic comment, Rachel hardly bothered to answer. She'd burned the tip of a stick in the fire and was using it to draw ash figures on the floor, images of the people they'd seen. In a few stores she caught the fighting stance of Leila perfectly.

"We'll follow a path," she said. "The brightness is on the floor."

"The brightness that led us straight into a trap?" Annabeth asked.

"Lay off her, Annabeth," I said. "She's doing the best she can."

Annabeth stood. "The fire's getting low. I'll go look for some more scraps while _you _guys talk strategy." And she marched off into the shadows.

Rachel drew another figure with her stick - an ashy pair of eyes with a soft expression.

"Annabeth's usually not like this," Percy told her. "I don't know what her problem is."

Rachel raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure you don't know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Boys," she muttered. "Totally blind."


	16. Nightmare

*****I'm not going to update for a few days, so here's a two-chapters-packed-in-one for you guys! Enjoy, and remember to review!**

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Leila's head ached where that stupid Annabeth girl bonked her. Okay, maybe not stupid. She definitely had a higher IQ level than Leila.

Everything came back to her, and she opened her eyes. She came face-to-face with a pair of green eyes, gazing at Leila and swirling with emotion.

"Good morning." Jackson said cheerfully.

Leila struggled to move her hands and legs, to get her sword and kill the owner of those eyes, but Jackson said sternly, "Seriously? Again with the schizophrenia? You have to trust us."

_Don't overreact, Brooke. _said Master's voice. Well, not really Master's voice. It sounded more like Luke's voice. That meant that the transformation must almost be complete…

Leila obeyed Luke/Kronos' voice and said quietly, "I can't trust anyone anymore." She looked into the face of her enemy and had a weird déjà vu moment.

"Can you trust me enough to tell me why you hate me?" Jackson said, biting his lip.

He honestly wanted to know, and Leila could feel it. Yes, she hated his guts, but she couldn't resist the urge to tell him. She couldn't bear the idea that he didn't know how he had destroyed her life.

"Didn't I already tell you? You caused Mount St. Helens to explode. My grandparents lived in Washington. My mom was visiting. Get the picture?" Leila said, controlling her anger.

Jackson's eyes widened. "I'm -"

"Don't you _dare _tell me that you're sorry. That doesn't change a thing."

"No. What I'm trying to say is that I'm pretty sure I didn't cause that."

"_What? _You're lying!"

"No, I'm not. When I was on Calypso's Island, Hephaestus showed me a newscast that said that no one was killed in the eruption."

Half of what Jackson said went over Leila's head, but she said, "You _liar! _Then how would you explain the Iris Message? It _showed _my family dying."

"Kronos was tricking you, trying to get you on his side." Jackson guessed.

Leila's eyebrows furrowed together.

_Lies. _hissed Master's voice. _The boy is desperate to turn your loyalties. _

"I don't believe you, Jackson." And she didn't. She couldn't believe that he was making such huge assumptions so self-assuredly.

"Luke wants to use you. You're a daughter of Poseidon, and he just sweet-talked you into joining him."

"_No one _is using me!" Leila said, her temper reaching its point. She just wanted to get Jackson to shut up about Luke. "I know that Kronos is evil, okay? I know that killing innocent demigods is wrong! I _know _that destroying a whole camp isn't the right way to go!"

Her tattoo burnt viciously. But Master couldn't stop Leila from telling the truth.

"Then why are you even on his side?" Jackson yelled, causing - what were their names? - Annabeth and Rachel to wake up behind him.

Leila's hands, tied behind her, curled into fists. "Because BOTH SIDES are evil! Because you are fighting for a lost cause! It's all about choosing the lesser of two evils, Jackson, and Kronos, in my book, is the lesser evil!"

"You're wrong!"

"Oh, really? And how much better do you think _you _are, huh? Mr. Percy I'm-so-good-and-moral Jackson? Leaving me tied up here? And your girlfriend actually suggested leaving me here to die! How much better are you than the Titans if you think like that? Or the gods, for that matter?" Leila screamed.

Jackson turned bright red, either from the insults or from Leila calling Annabeth his girlfriend.

"Leila," said Annabeth gently, "I understand. You're angry at the gods. You think your father abandoned you."

"He _did_." she spit.

"But you can't just take out this anger by bringing down the gods," Annabeth continued. "They stand for Western Civilization. If they fall, we all fall."

"Unless someone takes their place." Leila muttered.

"The world would be a horrible place with Kronos in charge." Annabeth warned.

"How much worse can the world get?" Leila countered. "Two World Wars? Endless conflict? The gods have kept Western Civilization in horrible shape. We need a new era."

"Of chaos?" Rachel put in. "Of evil?"

Leila shook her head. "You guys are supporting the gods because they're your family. Not because they stand for anything good. They've done horrible, horrible things, and you are refusing to acknowledge that!"

"Maybe, but with the Titans in charge, they're going to enslave the mortals. And remove everything that has to do with the West. Which means no pizza. At _all_." said Jackson.

"Percy!" Annabeth scolded.

_Enslave the mortals? Is that true? _Leila thought, ignoring Jackson's pizza statement.

_Of course. _Master said simply. _They're pesky creatures._

_ There's no way that I'm going to enslave innocent mortals!_

_ Remember, Brooke, that you serve _me. Master snarled. Her scythe tattoo gleamed red and it felt like a thousand needles were poking her on her arm. _Kill Jackson. Lead the attack on the camp. Or pay the price. _

His voice faded, but she could still feel the Titan's presence inside of her.

"You can tell me anything you want, but nothing changes the fact that you killed my mom. My _mom_, Jackson. She's everything to me, and you _killed _her, you monster!" Leila's eyes filled with hot tears. She jerked her head away and lay down on the floor, towards the wall. There was no use in struggling. They'd have to let her go eventually, and then she'd have her revenge.

"Leila, I - " Jackson started to say.

"Leave her alone, Percy," Rachel said softly. "She wouldn't appreciate you talking to her."

"Gee, thanks." Jackson said sourly.

"Get some sleep, Seaweed Brain. You've been watching - " Annabeth paused, " - um, I mean, you've been on watch for hours."

"Yeah, okay." Jackson mumbled.

* * *

**Percy's POV**

Percy lay down, feeling miserable. He was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as his eyes closed.

In his dreams, he heard laughter. Cold, harsh laughter, like knives being sharpened.

He was standing at the edge of a pit in the depths of Tartarus. Below me the darkness seethed like inky soup.

"So close to your own destruction, little hero," the voice of Kronos chided. "And still you are blind."

The voice was different than it had been before. It seemed almost physical now, as if it were speaking from a real body instead of...whatever he'd been in his chopped-up condition.

"I have much to thank you for," Kronos said. "You have assured my rise."

The shadows in the cavern became deeper and heavier. Time slowed down. Percy's breathing almost stopped.

"A favor," Kronos said. "The Titan lord always pays his debts. Perhaps a glimpse of the girl whose family you killed..."

The darkness rippled around Percy, and he was in a different room.

Leila Brooke slowly moved towards Kronos' coffin, her hands outstretched. She looked different - her face was fuller, her long,dark hair was pulled back, and her face was free of any makeup. Luke Castellan stood in the corner of the room, smirking with satisfaction.

Leila's fingertips touched the lid, and she screamed in pain. She tried to pull her hand back, but she seemed to be stuck.

Golden smoke curled up from her arm, and a dark tattoo of a scythe slowly appeared on her right forearm. Luke dropped his mask of calm and gasped at the symbol.

Kronos' voice, coming from the coffin, chuckled. _"You serve _me, _daughter of Poseidon. You may argue on certain matters with Luke Castellan, but your loyalty always lies with me."_

She argued with Luke?

"Y-yes Master." Leila said, terror written on her face. Percy grit his teeth. He hated how she called Kronos 'Master'.

His voice became more hostile, and he said, _"This was your choice. You _will _train and lead the attack on Camp Half-Blood. And you _will_ kill Percy Jackson."_  
What? Lead the attack on Camp Half-Blood?

"Percy... Jackson?" Leila choked. She said his name as if she knew him.

_"Yes. Your dear brother. But feel no family attachment to him, Leila Brooke. He will always be on the side of the pathetic Olympians and nothing you do will change that. He is, in fact, the one who killed your family."_

"What?" she said. Percy's heart sank. Here comes the part when she starts to hate his guts.

_"Show her, Castellan._"

Luke approached the fountain which stood in the corner of the room, fished out a golden coin, and threw it into the mist.

"Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me the enemy." he commanded.

The mist shimmered, and there was an image of Mount St. Helens exploding forcefully, lava oozing out of the crater, dark smoke blocking the sun.

Hephaestus' words on Calypso's Island came back to him: _You're the son of the Earthshaker, boy. You don't know your own strength._ He dreaded what he was about to see next.

"No." Leila murmured. The image zoomed in on a Percy, tiny in comparison, his body on fire. He was flying into the sky, smoke and lava whirling behind him.  
As if it couldn't get any worse, the image shifted and Percy saw a group of three people sitting at a table.

"Honey, I'm sure she'll come back. Leila's a smart kid." said an older woman with gray hair. _Oh gods. This must be Leila's -_

"I-I know," said a pretty younger woman sitting beside her. She had long, wavy auburn hair and the older woman's gray-green eyes. "It's just...If I had told her about Camp Half-Blood earlier, she might hav -"

_Camp Half-Blood._

Her statement was cut off as the old guy yelled, "Get under the table, NOW!"

The lights swung wildly. They all huddled underneath a table, holding each other's hands as the ground shook violently from the eruption that Percy had caused. The roof collapsed, burying them in rubble.

The Iris Message faded, and Leila, struck with grief, fell to her knees. "NO!" she howled.

_"What do you say now, Leila?_" Kronos said.

The violent expression that Percy knew so well crept on Leila's face. She glared at the coffin and said, "I _will_ kill Percy Jackson."

Percy was transported back to the pit, to the laughs of Kronos.

"You may try to convince her otherwise, but she has your wretched flaw of loyalty. Convenient, in my case. She refuses to listen to your reasoning, even though the Iris Message was but a trick of the light. Very simple magic, actually. Simple enough for Castellan to manage." Kronos sneered.

"That image was fake? You lied to her! You framed me!" Percy yelled. "I didn't kill her family after all!"

"Oh, yes." Kronos said. "Her family is alive and well. They weren't even in Washington at all at the time of your - ah - little explosion. But what does it matter? She will never believe you, and will always remain my loyal servant. Now, perhaps a look at the friends you abandoned.."

Percy was swept into a different cave.

"Hurry!" Tyson said. He came barreling into the room. Grover stumbled along behind him. There was a rumbling in the corridor they'd come from, and the head of an enormous snake burst into the cave. This thing was so big that its body barely fit through the tunnel. Its scales were coppery. Its head was diamond-shaped like a rattler, and its yellow eyes glowed with hatred. When it opened its mouth, its fangs were as tall as Tyson.

It lashed at Grover, but Grover scampered out of the way. The snake got a mouthful of dirt. Tyson picked up a boulder and threw it at the monster, smacking it between the eyes, but the snake just recoiled and hissed.

"It's going to eat you!" Grover yelled at Tyson.

"How do you know?"

"It just told me! Run!"

Tyson darted to one side, but the snake used its head like a club and knocked him off his feet.

"No!" Grover yelled. But before Tyson could regain his balance, the snake wrapped around him and started to squeeze.

Tyson strained, pushing with all his immense strength, but the snake squeezed tighter. Grover frantically hit the snake with his reed pipes, but he might as well have been banging on a stone wall.

The whole room shook as the snake flexed its muscles, shuddering to overcome Tyson's strength.

Grover began to play with pipes, and stalactites rained down from the ceiling. The whole cave seemed about to collapse...

* * *

Percy woke with Annabeth shaking his shoulder. "Percy, wake up!"

"Tyson - Tyson's in trouble!" Percy said. "Have to help him! Been framed! Didn't kill!"

"First things first," she said, shaking her head in confusion. "Earthquake!"

Sure enough, the room was rumbling. "Rachel!" Percy yelled.

Her eyes opened instantly. She grabbed her pack, and the three of them ran. Percy turned around in time to see a rock catch Leila on the shoulder, pinning her on the floor.

Percy cursed. He had forgotten all about her.

"Leave her, Percy!" Annabeth yelled.

"No way!"

He ran over and heaved the rock off of Leila, and cut Riptide through her bonds. With her shoulder bleeding heavily, she said, her eyes wide with surprise, "You saved me."

"Yeah, well, RUN!"

They dashed to join Rachel and Annabeth. They were almost to the far tunnel when a column next to the group groaned and buckled.

They kept going as a hundred tons of marble crashed down behind them.


	17. Daedalus

*****I know, I know, I haven't updated for a week. I've had no internet access for the past few days, so I couldn't edit this chapter at all, which explains why it's so short and bad. Anyway, I will be updating more frequently now, and uploading better chapters, so enjoy!**

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Leila followed the group into a stainless steel hallway. Fluorescent lights glowed from the ceiling, and the floor was a metal grate. This place seemed so familiar...

Of course! They were looking for _Daedalus_. Ariadne's string. Leila had been here only a little while ago with Luke and his army.

Annabeth, Rachel and Jackson were hours too late. Luke had already gotten the string.

Leila felt a brief pang of sympathy for them, which was quickly quelled by her feeling of disgust.

_Percy Jackson_ had saved her life. Now - now she owed him back.

_Ridiculous_. Master scoffed. _He only saved your life in order to bring you back to Camp Half-Blood and humiliate you._

_ Maybe…but that doesn't change the fact that he prevented my death. _Leila challenged.

Master remained strangely silent.

Leila could have killed Jackson easily on the way to Daedalus' workshop, but then again…he could have left her trapped in the maze.

_Need I remind you of your mission, Brooke? _A blinding pain enveloped her arm.

Leila winced. Jackson looked at her curiously, and she scowled at him. He quickly looked away.

She squinted her eyes against the blazing sun coming through giant windows. The workshop looked the same as it had a day ago - with its polished stone floors, thirty-foot ceilings, and spiral staircase.

"Leila, there's something I need to tell you." Jackson murmured next to her, his hand clenched around a ballpoint pen. "I had a dream last night -"

"_Di immortales_!" Annabeth said. She ran to the nearest easel and looked at the sketch. "He's a genius. Look at the curves on this building!"

"And an artist," Rachel said in amazement. "These wings are amazing!"

Jackson kept a firm grip on Leila's arm and steered her to the window, probably making sure she wouldn't escape.

He took a deep breath, about to launch into his story, but Leila beat him to it.

"Why did you save me?" she asked bluntly.

Jackson looked at her. He directed his gaze at his ballpoint pen for a while before answering. "Because I haven't given up on you."

"I need to kill you, Jackson! Why are you making it so hard? Now I owe you one. I hate you, but you saved my life." Leila said, frustrated. Her tattoo seared with pain again, but she ignored it.

"Wow, that just made me feel warm and fuzzy inside." Jackson said sarcastically. He suddenly added, "Your shoulder - it's bleeding!"

"Don't worry about it." Leila said dismissively.

"Oh," Jackson said, "Uh, anyway, I needed to tell you...the Iris Message that Luke showed you - it's fake."

"What?" she said, jerking her arm out of his grasp. "You - " She was going to call him a bunch of colorful names, but Jackson tightened his grip on her wrist.

"Hear me out." he said. "I had a dream last night - "

With disturbing accuracy, He went on to describe the scene in the coffin room, and the day Leila had gotten her tattoo.

_Lies. _Master murmured.

"You-you're tricking me." Leila said, her eyes narrowing. "You're lying!"

"Leila, when are you going to understand? You're nothing to your 'Master' but a useful weapon and you're nothing to Luke either. You're just a pawn of Kronos. Another opportunity to control the Great Prophecy."

"I'd believe anyone but you." she said.

"I saved your life." Jackson reminded her.

"That still doesn't boost your credibility."

Their argument was interrupted by Rachel hissing, "Percy!" and pointing a shaky finger at the spiral staircase.

Leila looked where she was pointing and saw Daedalus, his sword drawn, standing at the top of the staircase.

"Quintus." Jackson muttered.

"You," Annabeth said. "What have you done with Daedalus?"

_Wow. She really hasn't figured it out yet?_

"Trust me, my dear," Daedalus said, smiling faintly. "You don't want to meet him."

"Jackson," Leila said, with a sudden sense of urgency. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" he said.

"Quintus _is_ - " she started to say, but Daedalus cut her off.

"Ah. The daughter of Poseidon. It's very rare for an agent of Kronos to switch sides." He mused.

"You know Quintus?" Annabeth said, turning on her.

"I _did not _switch sides!" Leila growled, ignoring Annabeth.

"Oh? And why haven't you killed them all now? I know you're more than capable of doing so." Daedalus said, raising his eyebrows. Rachel stepped back from her nervously.

"I owe Jackson. He saved me." Leila grumbled.

Daedalus chuckled appreciatively. "A word of advice, Leila. Percy _is _telling the truth. Kronos is desperate to have a powerful half-blood like you on his side. He faked the Iris Message."

"How - "

"I overheard a conversation. It's not that hard to fake Iris Messages, girl. It was done countless times during the Trojan War. However, I cannot console you about your father. The gods are cruel, indeed."

"Enough games," Jackson growled. "What have you done with Daedalus?"

"My boy, you need lessons from your friend on seeing clearly. I _am _Daedalus."


	18. Betrayal

**Leila's POV**

As the whole ''But you don't even look like Daedalus!' and 'You're an automaton. You made yourself a new body' scene unfolded in front of Leila, she was having her own personal battle.

_You're a cheat! _Leila screamed at Kronos in her mind. _You would do anything, you would even lie to get me on your side!_

_Is that how you address your master?_ Kronos said.

_I don't serve you anymore, Kronos. I won't kill Jackson, or lead the attack on the camp. _Leila thought decidedly.

_You wretched traitor. You are my slave! You renounced the gods! _

_Yes, I hate the gods. But you - you are far worse. Now, I renounce you. _

_You will not escape that easily, Leila Brooke. You will be punished, and you will cause Olympus' downfall! You are a part of me, and I will always be a part of you. Forever._

Agony far worse than Leila had ever experienced coursed through her body. She was paralyzed; she couldn't scream, she couldn't think. Quietly, she slipped to the floor.

* * *

**Percy's POV**

Percy was furious. He couldn't _believe _that Daedalus had given Luke the string, even after visiting Camp Half-Blood, even after earning their trust.

"Kronos promised me freedom," Daedalus said. "Once Hades is overthrown, he will set me over the Underworld. I will reclaim my son Icarus. I will make things right with poor young Perdix. I will see Minos's soul cast into Tartarus, where it cannot bother me again. And I will no longer have the run from death."

"That's your brilliant idea?" Annabeth yelled. "You're going to let Luke destroy our camp, kill hundreds of demigods, and then attack Olympus? You're going to bring down the entire world so you can get what you want?"

"Your cause is doomed, my dear. I saw that as soon as I began to work at your camp. There is no way you can hold back the might of Kronos."

"That's not true!" she cried.

"I am doing what I must, my dear. The offer was too sweet to refuse. I'm sorry."

Annabeth pushed over an easel. Architectural drawings scattered across the floor. "I used to respect you. You were my hero! You - you built amazing things. You solved problems. Now … I don't know what you are. Children of Athena are supposed to be _wise_, not just clever. Maybe you _are _just a machine. You should have died two thousand years ago."

Instead of getting mad, Daedalus hung his head.

Percy whipped around and glared at Leila. "A heads-up would have been nice!"

He gasped as he saw her spread on the ground. Her face was pale as sheet. No, literally - it had absolutely no blood in it. Her unfocused eyes, slightly golden, were still open, and she stared at the ceiling. Her scythe tattoo was blood red, and an expression of absolute torment was written on her face.

Percy went on his knees and shook Leila by the shoulders.

"LEILA!" he yelled. "You are _not _dying on me."

"No. She is not dying." Daedalus said, surveying her. "She's in extreme pain. Kronos is torturing her."

"How do you know? Why isn't she saying anything?" Percy said wildly.

"Percy, I've been alive for over two thousand years. I know possession when I see it. Her intentions are good, but she's under the influence of her master. You had better stay away from that girl."

"You shouldn't be talking." Percy snapped.

Leila's face twitched, and she suddenly shouted, "Stop it! GET OUT of my mind!"

Her eyes flickered and returned to their normal green color.

She blinked, and looked at Percy. Before he could check on whether she was okay or not, Rachel warned, "Someone's coming."

The doors of the workshop burst open, and Nico was pushed inside, his hands in chains. Then Kelli and two Laistrygonians marched in behind him, followed by the ghost of Minos.

He fixed his gaze on Daedalus. "There you are, my old friend."

Daedalus's jaw clenched. He looked at Kelli. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Luke sends his compliments," Kelli said. "He thought you might like to see your old employer Minos."

Daedalus paled. "Treachery."

"Get used to it. We'll be taking this fine young demigod with us." Kelli said, running her finger under Nico's chin.

She glanced around the room and spotted Leila on the floor. Clucking with disappointment, Kelli said, "You're getting rusty, Brooke. Luke assumed that you would have killed Jackson by now. Seems like you've fallen short of his expectations."

"She doesn't serve you anymore!" Percy yelled. He didn't know how he knew that, but from the look on Leila's face...it was as if she was trying to get back control of her mind from Kronos.

Kelli laughed. Without any warning, her hands changed to claws. Her hair burst into flame and her legs turned to their true form - one donkey leg, one bronze.

Leila staggered to her feet and grabbed a sword off from the wall. It was huge, but she managed to strike at one of the Laestrygonians.

"What are you doing!" Kelli screeched.

"Jackson's right, Kelli." Leila managed to smirk. "You all lied to me. You lied to Daedalus. Your whole cause is flawed. And, Kelli? You have _no _school spirit."

Percy stared at Leila with a mixture of shock, relief, and pride.

"Percy," Rachel whispered, "The wings. Do you think - "

"Get them," Percy said, "Leila and I'll try to buy you some time."

And with that, all Hades broke loose.


	19. Pain

**Leila's POV**

Annabeth and Jackson charged at Kelli. Leila didn't have enough energy to fight, so she knelt next to the eleven year old boy and slashed her sword through the chains which bound his hands and feet. As she lifted his hand to cut at the shackles, she shivered. His skin was as cold as ice.

"What's your name?" she asked him, keeping her attention on her work.

"Nico. Nico Di Angelo." he said, looking at her carefully with intense, dark eyes.

"Well, Nico. I hope you have a plan, because - GET DOWN!" Leila shoved Nico to the floor as a jar of Greek fire flew inches above his head. It began to burn, its green flames spreading quickly.

"To me!" Minos cried. "Spirits of the dead!" He raised his ghostly hands and the air began to hum.

"No!" Nico cried. He clambered to his feet and glared at Minos.

"You do not control me, young fool." Minos sneered. "All this time, I have been controlling you! A soul for a soul, yes. But it is not your sister who will return from the dead. It is I, as soon as I slay the inventor!"

Spirits began to appear around Minos - shimmering forms that slowly multiplied, solidifying into Cretan soldiers.

"I am the son of Hades," Nico said boldly. "Be gone!"

There was no way that this puny guy was the son of -

Minos laughed. "You have no power over me. I am the lord of spirits! The ghost king!"

"No." Nico drew his sword. "_I _am."

He stabbed his black blade into the floor, and it cleaved through the stone like butter.

"Never!" Minos's form rippled. "I will not -"

The ground rumbled. The windows cracked and shattered to pieces, letting in a blast of fresh air. Leila scrambled back from the fissure opening in the stone floor of the workshop, and Minos and all his spirits were sucked into the void with a horrible wail.

"Nice." Leila said appreciatively.

"Percy!" Nico gasped.

Jackson's battle with Kelli wasn't going too well. The _empousa _pounced on him, and his sword skittered away. He hit his head hard on a worktable as he fell down.

Kelli laughed. "You will taste wonderful!"

Leila leaped forward and stabbed the _empousa _in the back with the impossibly heavy sword before Jackson got himself killed.

Kelli gasped, "No...school...spirit..." and dissolved into yellow vapor.

After staring at Leila for a few moments in astonishment, Annabeth helped Jackson up. "We have to help Daedalus!" he shouted.

"No time," Rachel said. "Too many coming!" She had already fitted herself with wings and was working on Nico.

"Go!" Leila said. "I'll help Daedalus."

"I can't just leave you here!" Jackson said, his eyes wild with indecision.

"_We_ can't just leave you here." Rachel corrected him.

"Yes, you can." Leila said. "Kelli and the giants were able to find you guys because of _me_." She tapped her scythe tattoo. "If I go with you, Kronos' army will be able to find you wherever you're going."

Jackson still shook his head, resolute. "We're getting you out of here."

Leila sighed and threw her hands in the air. "Fine. Get yourself killed. Percy Jackson, the most idiotic hero of the century, who perished in the Labyrinth. With the exit right behind him."

"Okay, okay! Jeez!" Jackson exclaimed. He studied her face for a few seconds and vowed, "I'm coming back for you. I promise."

Annabeth glared at Leila, but her expression softened after a heartbeat. "Thanks." she murmured, quiet enough so only Leila could hear.

With that said, Annabeth, Jackson, Nico and Rachel jumped out the window, and into open sky.

_You let them escape. You LET THEM ESCAPE?! _Kronos screamed.

Yes. Yes, she did. And she was in major trouble.

Leila let herself be dragged backwards by two Cyclopes, back into the Labyrinth, and away from freedom.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Beat Leila. Whip Leila. Stab Leila.

Pretend that she was never your friend. Pretend that she never trained with you. Pretend that she never helped you when you were in trouble.

How much longer? How much longer would she have to endure this pain? How long had she even been chained to this table? Minutes? Hours? Days?

It could have been Annabeth in her place. Nico. Rachel. Jackson. But they didn't deserve this. She did.

Beat Leila. Whip Leila. Stab Leila.

Her friends' faces swam in front of her, snarling and screaming insults.

Betrayer. Double-Crosser. Backstabber.

"You too, Ethan?" Leila said weakly.

"I'm sorry, Leila. It's the only way." The son of Nemesis stabbed his knife downward, piercing Leila's collarbone.

She refused to beg for mercy. She would not give them that satisfaction. She glared at the demigod she once called her friend.

"You sick, dirty -" Leila's insult was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream coming from her mouth.

Agony beyond anything she'd ever experienced jolted her body. All of her bones were breaking at the same time. Pain as intense as fire arched her spine. Her forearm was being dipped in acid, again and again.

_What you're feeling right now is not real, silly demigod. But I can make it real. _Kronos snarled.

_You're doing this? _

_I can do far worse. Believe me, I can. But I won't kill you, of course. I still need you to kill Jackson, and destroy the camp._

_Are you insane? There's no way that I'm killing Jackson, after everything that's happened. __Torture me for days, Kronos. You will never break me. And I will never serve you again._

_You are my slave!_

_ I am my own master._

Kronos laughed coldly. _So be it._

A blade dragged through her left arm, all the way down to the bone. This time, it was real.

"STOP! Ethan!" Leila screamed.

"Nakamura doesn't have the guts to do what I'm doing. A new symbol for you, Leila. A permanent one." said another voice.

"Zeke?"

Something whacked her across the face.

"Don't you _dare _say my name, you little traitor!"

With her head still spinning, Leila managed to say, "I don't know you anymore."

"Yeah, well, I don't know you, either."

Blood pooled around Leila, staining her face and her lips. A memory resurfaced, and she focused on it to distract herself from the torment.

"Remember the time when I fell in the armory? The day we first met?" she said shakily.

"Shut up!" Zeke roared.

Leila continued, "I was a newbie. But you accepted me. And after you helped me up, and I thanked you, remember what you said?"

"I said, shut up!" he demanded.

"You said, 'Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for.'" A gruesome smile curved Leila's bloody lips. "Awful situation you're in now, huh?"

"You're...you're insane!" Zeke said wildly. "You're crazy!"

"Am I the crazy one? You're cutting up your friend, and _I'm _the crazy one?" she said sharply.

"You'll be sorry you said that, Brooke." He slashed his sword across her face, and Leila fell into what she thought was blissful unconsciousness.

_Wishful thinking, daughter of Poseidon. _Kronos chuckled. _Wishful thinking. _

Leila's vision turned blood red as she succumbed to the wrath of the Titan.


	20. A Coffin is Opened

****I've posted this humongous chapter because a quarter of it comes directly out of "The Battle of the Labyrinth" (which I do not own). I had to tweak the story line in order to fit Leila in. After you read the last paragraph of this chapter, don't freak out! Everything will be explained eventually. Finally, I won't be updating for a LONG TIME. Maybe even two weeks. You have been warned.**

* * *

**Percy's POV **

Percy ran into Rachel, who'd stopped in front of him. They had come to a crossroads. The tunnel continued straight ahead, but a side tunnel T'd off to the right - a circular shaft carved from black volcanic rock.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

Rachel stared down the dark tunnel. In the dim flashlight beam, her face looked like one of Nico's specters.

"Is that the way?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Rachel said nervously. "Not at all."

"Why are we stopping then?" Percy asked.

"There's something evil down that tunnel," Rachel said. "Something very powerful."

"And the smell of death," Nico added, which made Percy feel a whole lot better.

He exchanged glances with Annabeth.

"Luke's entrance," she guessed. "The one to Mount Othrys - the Titans' palace."

"I have to check it out," Percy said.

"Percy, no."

"Luke could be right there," He said. "Or...or Leila. I have to find out what's going on."

Annabeth hesitated. "Then we'll all go."

"No," Percy said. "It's too dangerous. If they got hold of Nico, or Rachel for that matter, Kronos could use them. You stay here and guard them."

Annabeth took her Yankees cap out of her pocket. "At least take this. And be careful."

"Thanks. Here goes nothing." And Percy sneaked invisibly down the dark stone tunnel.

* * *

Before Percy even got to the exit he heard voices: the growling, barking sounds of sea-demon smiths, the telekhines.

He crept toward the end of the tunnel. He had to remind himself that he was invisible. They shouldn't be able to see him.

A blast of cold air hit Percy as he emerged. He was standing near the top of Mount Tam. The Pacific Ocean spread out below, gray under a cloudy sky.  
About twenty feet downhill, two telekhines were placing something on a big rock - something long and thin and wrapped in black cloth. Ethan was helping them open it.

"There!" the telekhine said. Reverently, he lifted the weapon, and Percy's heart stopped momentarily. It was a scythe - a six-foot-long blade curved like a crescent moon, with a wooden handle wrapped in leather.

"We must sanctify it in the daughter of Poseidon's blood," the telekhine said. "Then you, half-blood, shall help present it when the lord awakes."

Percy ran toward the fortress, his pulse pounding in his ears. He didn't want to get anywhere close to that horrible scythe, but he knew what he had to do.

He had to stop Kronos from rising and save his half sister.

This might be his only chance.

Percy dashed through a dark foyer and into the main hall. At the end of the room, between two bronze braziers, was a dais. And on the dais, the golden sarcophagus. Collapsed against a nearby column was something - someone - that made Percy's blood turn to ice.

It was Leila Brooke. Horribly battered, with a dark pattern of blue bruises spread across her face. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were tied behind her back. Blood soaked through her clothes and the cloth which covered her mouth. Deep red slashes were engraved into her arm. It was obvious that she had been tortured.

Percy grit his teeth in anger.

It was easy...too easy to just destroy Kronos, grab Leila, and run.

Percy took a deep breath, drew Riptide, and stood over the coffin. In the middle of the lid was an inscription carved in letters even older than Greek, a language of magic. He couldn't read it, exactly, but he knew what it said: KRONOS, LORD OF TIME.

His hand touched the lid. His fingertips turned blue. Frost gathered on his sword.

It was now or never. Percy pushed back the golden lid and it fell to the floor with a huge _WHOOOOM!_

He lifted his sword, ready to strike. But when Percy looked inside, he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. Mortal legs...dressed in gray pants. Pale skin...blond hair...and a scar running along the left side of his face.

The body in the coffin was Luke's.

* * *

Percy should have stabbed him right then. But he was too stunned. As much as he hated Luke, as much as he had betrayed him, he just didn't get why he was in the coffin, and why he looked so very, very dead.

The voices of the telekhines were right behind Percy.

"What has happened!" one of the demons screamed when he saw the lid. Percy stumbled away from the dais, forgetting that he was invisible, and hid behind a column as they approached.

"Do you think it was the girl?" the other demon said nervously, glancing at Leila.

"Bah! I doubt it. We have her under our control now. Didn't you hear her scream when they brought out the carving knives?" the first demon said, chuckling.

Ethan looked uncomfortable, trying not to pay attention to what they were saying.

It took all of Percy's willpower to not gut the demons and Ethan right then and there.

"We must present the gifts now. Immediately!" said the other demon.

The two telekhines shuffled forward and knelt, holding up the scythe on its wrapping cloth. "My lord," one said. "Your symbol of power is remade."

Percy edged around the coffin and towards Leila.

"You fool," the other telekhine muttered. "He requires the half-blood first."

Ethan stepped back. "Whoa, what do you mean, he requires me?"

As discreetly as possible, Percy drew Riptide and cut through the rope which held Leila's hands together, wincing as his fingers brushed against the many scars on her wrists. He frowned as the feeble rope broke apart within moments. That was too effortless.

"Don't be a coward!" the first telekhine hissed. "He does not require your death. Only your allegiance. Pledge him your service. Renounce the gods. That is all."

Percy's head snapped up. If Ethan did what the telekhines were asking him to do...

"No!" Percy yelled. It was a stupid thing to do, but he charged back into the center of the room and took off the cap. "Ethan, don't!"

"Trespasser!" The telekhines bared their seal teeth. "The master will deal with you soon enough. Hurry, boy!"

"Ethan," I pleaded, "don't listen to them. Help me destroy it. Help me free my sister."

Ethan turned towards Percy, his eye patch blending in with the shadows on his face.

"I told you not to spare me, Percy. 'An eye for an eye.' You ever hear that saying? I learned what it means the hard way- when I discovered my godly parent. I'm the child of Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge. And this is what I was made to do."

He turned towards the dais. "I renounce the gods! What have they ever done for me? I will see them destroyed. I will serve Kronos."

The building rumbled. A wisp of blue light rose from the floor at Ethan Nakamura's feet. It drifted toward the coffin and began to shimmer, like a cloud of pure energy. Then it descended into the sarcophagus.

Luke sat bolt upright. His eyes opened, and they were no longer blue. They were golden, the same color as the coffin. He leaped out of the coffin with ease, and where his feet touched the floor, the marble froze like craters of ice.

He looked at Leila with those horrible golden eyes, as if he were a newborn baby, not sure what he was seeing. Then he looked at Percy, and a smile of recognition crept across his mouth.

"This body has been well prepared. Don't you think so, Percy Jackson?"

Percy couldn't move. He couldn't answer.

Kronos threw back his head and laughed. "Luke feared you.. His jealousy and hatred have been powerful tools. It has kept him obedient. For that I thank you."

He turned to Leila, still slumped against a column, and his smile widened.

"Ah, yes. Leila Brooke." Kronos mused. "Luke feared her, too. She has caused quite a bit of trouble, but no matter. _She_ will see your camp in flames. And _she_ will be the one holding the sword at your neck."

"No!" Percy yelled. He lunged at the thing that used to be Luke, thrusting his blade straight at his chest, but his skin deflected the blow like he was made of pure steel. He looked at Percy with amusement. Then he flicked his hand, and Percy flew across the room.

He slammed against a pillar, and slid down, straight into Leila's lap.

She cried out in pain, opened her eyes, and stared at Percy in bewilderment.

"Leila," Percy muttered in a low voice. "I'll keep Kronos distracted. Run, and meet Annabeth in the Labyrinth."

Her eyes were uncharacteristically filled with fear. But she ripped the gag from her mouth and nodded.

Percy struggled to his feet, blinking the stars out of his eyes, but Kronos had already grasped the handle of his scythe.

"Ah...much better," he said. "Backbiter, Luke called it. An appropriate name."

"What have you done to Luke?" Percy said.

Kronos raised his scythe. "He serves me with his whole being, as I require. The difference is, he feared you, Percy Jackson. I do not."

That's when Percy ran. There wasn't even any thought to it. No debate in his mind about - gee, should he stand up to him and try to fight again? Nope. He simply ran.

But his feet felt like lead. Time slowed down around Percy, like the world was turning to Jell-O. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Leila struggling too, trying to crawl out of the room. Percy knew it was the power of Kronos. His presence was so strong it could bend time itself.

"Run, little heroes," he laughed. "Run!"

Percy glanced back and saw him approaching Leila leisurely, swinging his scythe as if he were enjoying the feel of having it in his hands again.

Leila yelled, "Get away from me!"

"You little traitor," Kronos snarled. "You realize that the gods will never accept you? You are an outcast! I am your master!"

"I thought we already went over this." Leila muttered. "I DO NOT serve you!"

Kronos clucked his tongue with disappointment. "It seems that torture didn't teach you its lesson. Perhaps, I'll resort to a more..._permanent _solution."

In a sudden movement, Kronos bent down and seized Leila's arms. Her eyes clenched shut in pain. She threw her head back and let loose a horrible scream which rattled Percy's very bones.

"Let go of her!" he growled. But he still couldn't move.

Leila's body began to glow with a golden light, and her arms steamed with a yellowish smoke. Kronos let go of her, and replacing the tiny scythe tattoo on her right forearm were two huge scythes on both of her forearms. But the Titan wasn't done yet.

He grabbed her neck, and the symbol was again seared onto the skin he touched.

Kronos sneered. "What was it you said earlier, Leila? Oh yes. '_I am my own master._'" He threw back his head and laughed, swinging his scythe back and forth.

"Go! Do my bidding, daughter of Poseidon." he commanded.

Her eyes opened, and Percy's heart froze.

He was dreaming. This couldn't be possible. This _shouldn't _be possible.

Percy squeezed his eyelids shut and opened them again.

Yes, it was true.

Instead of sea-green, Leila Brooke's eyes were golden.


	21. Traitor

*****I got a couple of PM's yelling at me for not updating. And I lost a follower :(**

**To all the haters: I warned everybody in advance that I would not be updating for a while. Please respect that. **

**Quick shout out to:**

**Annabeth Chase child of wisdom**

**Silverwold456**

**Percabethluver4evur**

**Howlsong12**

**Captainforkz**

**I dream of faraway places**

**ScarletRunner**

**Belladu57**

**Icesong180**

**Thank you guys for reviewing. You have no idea how much I love it when people review.**

* * *

**Leila's POV**  
Smoke. Leila could smell...smoke. Where was the fire?

Leila realized that it was her skin. Her skin was burning off her arms.

Great. She was going to die slowly and painfully, starting with her arms being burnt off.

"Let go of her!" Percy growled.

She felt herself drifting off, and she thought she saw flashes of golden light through her eyelids.

_I'm sorry, Jackson._

The searing pain moved to her neck, and everything turned black.

* * *

_"Go. Do my bidding, daughter of Poseidon."_

_She opened her eyes._

_Master's voice. She would do anything for that voice._

_Because she was his slave, and she was content._

_"Stand up."_

_Master's mouth didn't move, so he must be speaking in her mind. She felt flattered that he would go to the length of entering her mind._

_Yes, Master. Anything for you, Master._

_"Arm yourself."_

_Yes, Master. Anything for you, Master._

_She looked around and located a weapon next to a scared looking teenager with a dark patch covering his eye._

_A sword hung by his side. Simple._

_She pushed the boy away and picked up the sword._

_She awaited her Master's orders, but they did not come. She gazed into Master's golden eyes, seeking guidance._

_Master pointed at another boy behind her._

_"Kill him."_

_Of course, Master._

_She turned around and glared at the other boy, the boy with black hair and green eyes._

_The boy made Master angry._

_Yes, she would kill him. She would kill him in a heartbeat for her master._

* * *

**Percy's POV**

Percy watched in horror as Leila's tattoos started to glow with a harsh golden light. With jerky movements, she stood up unsteadily, as if someone was controlling her limbs for her.

Which was true. She was the puppet, and Kronos was holding the strings.

Leila shoved Ethan aside and picked up his sword. She looked at Kronos uncertainly, awaiting his orders.

Kronos pointed at Percy. "Kill him."

She turned, and started to stalk towards him.

Leila was ten feet away when he heard, "PERCY!"

Rachel's voice.

Something flew past Percy, and a blue plastic hairbrush hit Leila in the eye.

"Ow!" she yelled. Her eyes flickered from gold to sea-green, and she blinked for a few moments, confused.

"What is this?" Kronos roared, and for a moment, his spell broke.

Percy's limbs were freed and he grasped Leila's arm. They ran straight into Rachel, Nico, and Annabeth, who were standing in the entry hall, their eyes wide with dismay.

"Luke? Leila?" Annabeth called. "What -"

Leila grabbed her by the shirt and hauled her away. Percy ran as fast as he had ever run, straight out of the fortress. They were almost back to the Labyrinth entrance when Percy heard the loudest bellow in the world - the voice of Kronos, coming back into control. "AFTER THEM!"

"No!" Nico yelled. He clapped his hands together, and a jagged spire of rock the size of an eighteen-wheeler erupted from the ground right in front of the fortress. The tremor it caused was so powerful the front columns of the building came crashing down. Percy heard muffled screams from the telekhines inside. Dust billowed everywhere.

They plunged into the Labyrinth and kept running, the howl of the Titan lord shaking the entire world behind them.

* * *

**Percy's POV**  
They ran until they were exhausted. Rachel steered them away from traps, but they had no destination in mind - only away from that dark mountain and the roar of Kronos.

They stopped in a tunnel of wet white rock. Percy couldn't hear anything behind them, but he didn't feel any safer. He could still remember those unnatural golden eyes staring out of Leila's face, and the feeling that his limbs were slowly turning to stone.

"I can't go any farther," Rachel gasped, hugging her chest.

Leila had been on the verge of collapsing the entire time they'd been running. Now she fell down and put her head between her knees, breathing loudly. Percy sat next to her, hesitantly rubbing her back.

His hands froze as he noticed something on her left arm, something besides the ugly tattoo.

He hadn't seen it before, but the deep red slashes which he had observed earlier formed letters, making up a word.

Engraved into Leila's skin was the word, "TRAITOR", written in sloppy block letters.

Annabeth gasped, noticing it too. "Gods, what did they _do_ to you?"

"Who did this?" Percy demanded, raising her arm. "Kronos?"

Leila didn't respond, resting her head against the wall and closing her eyes. "Jackson, does it matter who did it? The point is is that they were trying to get me to rejoin their side. Torture didn't work. At least, not with me."

"You're brave."

Leila snorted. "Thanks."

"No, I mean it. You're one of the bravest people I've ever met."

She remained silent for a while, tracing the scars on her hands. Suddenly, her head jerked up. Leila said wildly, "How did I get this?"

Frantically, she looked at her arms, scratching the two huge scythe tattoos, saying, "How did I get these?"

"Kronos gave them to you. It was just...I don't know, five minutes ago. In the coffin room."

Leila looked at him blankly.

With a sense of dread, Percy said, "You don't remember."


	22. Leave Me

*****AGH! *dodges a flurry of blue plastic hairbrushes* I'm sorry, guys, I really, really am. I haven't updated like I normally would have, which means that I haven't updated for a while. I have been incredibly busy with schoolwork and all that nonsense, so I could not write this chapter. Also, I had somewhat of a writer's block to overcome…so it took me a while to write this at all. It's very, very short – in fact, it's the shortest chapter in the whole story. But I PROMISE that the next chapter will be AT LEAST 1,000 words, and _hopefully_, I will update sooner.**

**Enjoy, and remember to review!**

* * *

**Percy's POV**

"And then Rachel hit you with her blue plastic hairbrush and...you turned back to normal." Percy finished.

Leila's eyes were empty, a dull green. She didn't say anything for a while, and Percy hesitantly touched her shoulder.

"Uh...Leila? Are you -"

"Don't touch me!" she said sharply, jerking her shoulder away. Her voice breaking, she added, "Don't touch me."

Leila wrapped her arms around her knees and started to sob, her dark hair forming a curtain around her face. Her tough-girl cover was down, and Percy saw how she was really feeling for a moment: vulnerable.

She murmured, "That didn't happen. I...I don't remember it that way."

Percy shook his head. "So you don't remember me coming in with shining armor and on a horse, miraculously saving you?"

Leila laughed shakily, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Of course I remember that, but amazingly, without the horse."

"This is serious," Annabeth urged her. "How do you remember it?"

Leila frowned, and started to hesitantly tell her view of it, describing how Kronos had grabbed her, the pain she had felt when he had touched her skin.

"Then, I felt his control over the room break. Jackson grabbed me and, we ran from the room. And here we are. I don't think I'm missing anything."

"Except the part when your eyes turned golden." Annabeth snarled.

Percy's eyebrows furrowed together. Where was the sudden anger coming from?

Leila's face hardened, and the defensive tough-girl cover was back up. She yelled, "I didn't have control over my body! I don't...I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"You tried to kill Percy!"

Leila stood up and stepped closer to Annabeth until they were nearly nose to nose.

She said in a dangerously calm voice, "Look, Annabeth. You're the daughter of Athena. And you know that that _wasn't _me. And you know that I _don't _serve Kronos anymore. And you know damn well that I'm not going to try to kill Jackson again!"

"Well, you already have. How can we trust you?"

"Annabeth!" Percy cut in. He couldn't believe that these words were coming out of her mouth.

"Look at the facts, Seaweed Brain! She just happens to conveniently forget -" Annabeth's voice cracked, and tears shone in her eyes as she whipped back to Leila. "You knew what was happening to Luke, and you didn't tell us!"

"Gee, Wise Girl. When should I have told you? When we were running for our lives when the Labyrinth was collapsing, or when Daedalus' workshop was burning down?" Leila said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Whoa guys, calm down." Rachel said, stepping between them.

Ignoring Rachel, Annabeth choked, "What did they do to Luke, Brooke? What happened to him?"

Leila's expression softened, but she said firmly, "I'm sorry, Annabeth. He gave himself over to Kronos. Luke is gone."

"No!" she insisted.

Percy told her what he had seen in the coffin, the way the last piece of Kronos's spirit had entered Luke's body when Ethan Nakamura pledged his service.

"But, you saw what happened to Leila! When Rachel hit her with the hairbrush, she came back to her senses!" Annabeth said.

Leila threw up her hands in defeat. "Personally, I can't tell you about that, because that _wasn't _me. I was able to snap back into myself, because Kronos isn't strong enough to control both Luke _and _me. Luke's situation is...different. Kronos has complete control over his body, and complete control over his mind. All I know is that he went to the Riv-"

"Leila!" Nico said, standing up suddenly, alarm in his eyes. He glared at her, and subtly put a finger to his lips. Leila nodded slightly.

"What?" Percy said suspiciously. "What -"

"Nothing." Nico said quickly.

After a moment of silence, Rachel whispered, "So, what do we do?"

"Easy." Leila said firmly. "You leave me here to die."


	23. Something Powerful

**Leila's POV**

Of course, Jackson just _had _to argue.

"What?" he gasped, his mouth flopping open like a fish's. "No way!"

Ignoring him, Leila started to walk towards the darkness of the Labyrinth.

Jackson blocked her way, yelling, "What is wrong with you? You're coming with us!"

Leila grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the wall.

"Are you insane? Do you have _any _idea what that means?" she hissed. "Kronos _possessed _me. If I come with you, do you have any idea how much danger I would put you in?"

"She's right." Annabeth piped up.

"Not helping!" Jackson said, glaring at her.

"I wasn't finished." Annabeth countered, raising her hand. "She's right, but it's safer to take her with us. Leila, if we leave you over here, Kronos will just take over you again and lead you back to Mount Tam. Do you want that?"

"Of course not. But what are you going to do once I become a mini-Kronos again?" Leila asked.

Jackson exchanged looks with Rachel, who shrugged. "I'm all out of plastic hairbrushes."

Nico said, "We'll just have to jolt you back into normal. It worked once, and it's probably going to work again. We'll figure it out."

Letting go of Jackson's shirt, Leila glowered at the ground, trying to mask her intense feelings of fear.

Before, she wasn't in control of her mind. Now, she wasn't in control of _anything_, mind or body. She couldn't believe how stupid everyone was being, taking her along.

"We have to keep moving," Rachel said. "Kronos'll send monsters after us."

The redhead was right. Leila was the monster. And Kronos had sent her.

Everyone pulled on their backpacks and started to straggle through the Labyrinth again.

* * *

Leila lagged back, about twenty feet behind the group.

Nico fell in step beside her, looking at her curiously.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Leila asked.

"You're not a bad person, you know." Nico said quietly, shaking his head. "You judge yourself too harshly."

"Look who's talking. You're the ones who are taking along a semi-Kronos -"

"That wasn't the girl who insisted that we escape instead of her when Daedalus' workshop was in flames." he interrupted. "You said yourself that that wasn't you. And I could tell."

"How?"

"It's complicated. I can...see people's life auras, if that makes any sense. Right now, yours is pure. It's just when Kronos took control of you it went haywire."

"You're a weird kid." Leila commented.

"I know." the son of Hades said, his dark eyes cast down. "But so are you."

Leila didn't have any response to that.

After a moment of silence, she asked, "Why are you all doing this? Trying to find ways to bring me along...it's like you guys are _asking _to be killed."

Nico laughed bleakly. "That's what heroes do. They beg to be killed."

"But...why not just kill me and get it over with?"

"We aren't Kronos' army." Nico said sharply. "We don't do that kind of stuff. We actually give people a second chance."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Percy. Annabeth. Rachel. Me. Camp Half-Blood."

Before Leila could say anything, she crashed into Jackson, who had stopped abruptly in front of her.

He focused his flashlight beam on a trampled clump of red fabric lying on the ground.

His hands shook as he picked up the fabric, studying it.

"A Rasta cap. The one Grover always wears." Annabeth whispered.

Leila narrowed her eyes and studied the wet ground. "Does this Grover happen to be a satyr?"

"Yes!" Jackson said wildly behind her.

Wordlessly, she pointed at large footprints - like a Cyclops' - on the muddy ground, and the smaller ones - satyr hooves - leading off to the left.

"We have to follow them." Jackson said. "They went that way. It must have been recently."

"What about Camp Half Blood?" Nico said. "There's no time."

Leila crossed her fingers. If they didn't go to Camp Half-Blood _right now_, their camp would probably be destroyed by the time they found the satyr and the Cyclops.

"We have to find them," Annabeth insisted. "They're our friends."

Leila shook her head. She admired Annabeth and Jackson's loyalty, but if everything went according to plan, Camp Half-Blood would be incinerated for sure by the time they got back.

Ananbeth picked up Grover's smashed cap and forged ahead.

* * *

**Percy's POV**

Percy followed, bracing himself for the worst. The tunnel was treacherous. It sloped at weird angles and was slimy with moisture. Half the time they were slipping and sliding rather than walking. Percy fell in the most unflattering way on his back, tripping Leila. She managed to regain her balance and punch Percy on the arm.

Finally, they got to the bottom of a slope and found themselves in a large cave with huge stalagmite columns. Through the center of the room ran an underground river, and Tyson was sitting by the banks, cradling Grover in his lap. Grover's eyes were closed. He wasn't moving.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Leila stiffened at the sight of the Cyclops. But Jackson yelled in relief, "Tyson!"

The Cyclops was named after...a chicken nugget company?

"Brother! Come quick!"

They ran over to him, Leila reluctantly. She had had bad experiences with Cyclops.

The satyr, Grover wasn't dead, but his whole body trembled like he was freezing to death.

"What happened?" Jackson asked.

"So many things," Tyson murmured. "Large snake. Large dogs. Men with swords. But then...we got close to here. Grover was excited. He ran. Then we reached this room, and he fell. Like this."

"Did he say anything?"

"He said, 'We're close.' Then he hit his head on the rocks."

Jackson knelt next to him, shining his flashlight around the cavern. At the far end was the entrance to another cave, flanked by gigantic columns of crystal that looked like diamonds. And beyond that entrance, Leila could feel...something. Something very powerful.

"Grover," Jackson said. "Wake up."

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh."

Leila splashed icy cold river water in his face.

"Splurg!" His eyelids fluttered. "Percy? Annabeth? Where...who..."

"It's okay," Jackson said. "You passed out. The presence was too much for you."

"I - I remember. Pan."

"Whoa, whoa, wait. You mean, like, the god of the wild?" Leila said, astonished.

Jackson stared at her. "Yeah. And he just might be beyond that doorway."

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter! Do you guys want Leila's or Percy's POV in the next one? **


	24. The Lost God Speaks

*****IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! **

**First of all, I did this mostly in Leila's POV because more than half of you said so. Also, this chapter is a little boring because 4/5 of it comes DIRECTLY out of "The Battle of the Labyrinth" (which you know I don't own). I couldn't really personalize it, because the description of the death of Pan would be the same from both Leila and Percy's POV.**

**Secondly: I am starting to edit my spinoff of "The House of Hades". I reread it, and I realized that it really sucked. You can expect it to be completely edited by the time I finish this story.**

**Thirdly: I dug up an old story I had started to write about Leila, Leo, Piper, Jason, Hazel and Frank going to a high school in San Francisco, and I found that I really liked it. I'll most probably continue it and publish it as soon as this story has finished.**

**FINALLY: I have finally made a tumblr! (the-singer-of-apollo) The full link is on my profile at the very end.**

**I love drawing PJO fanart, and if you want to look at some of my artwork, check out my tumblr!**

**Don't expect it to be anything great though. I'm not really good at drawing. And I literally just made my tumblr account, so don't expect like, 10 drawings and a million posts. You have been warned.**

**Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Percy's POV**

Percy made quick introductions, since Tyson and Grover had never met Rachel or Leila.

Tyson told Rachel she was pretty, which made Annabeth's nostrils flare like she was going to blow fire. Then, he bowled Leila over with a huge hug, bellowing, "SISTER!"

To Percy's surprise and relief, Leila blinked a few times in confusion, but then hugged Tyson back.

"S-sister," Grover stuttered. "P-percy, do you have _any _idea what this means?"

"We'll talk about it later, G-man. Come on. Lean on me."

Annabeth and Percy helped Grover up, and together they waded across the underground river. The current was strong. The water came up to their waists. Percy willed himself to stay dry, which is a handy little ability, but that didn't help the others, and he could still feel the cold, like wading through a snowdrift.

"I think we're in Carlsbad Caverns," Annabeth said, her teeth chattering. "Maybe an unexplored section."

"How do you know?"

"Carlsbad is in New Mexico," she said. "That would explain last winter."

Percy nodded. Grover's swooning episode had happened when they passed through New Mexico. That's where he'd felt closest to the power of Pan.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

They got out of the water and kept walking. As the crystal pillars loomed larger, Leila started to feel the power emanating from the next room. She had been in the presence of gods and Titans before, but this was different. Her skin tingled with living energy. Her weariness fell away, as if she'd just gotten a good night's sleep.

She glanced sideways, and saw Jackson and Annabeth pulling Grover with renewed strength.

Leila was too stunned to talk. Even Nico seemed speechless. They stepped into the cave, and Rachel said, "Oh, wow."

The walls glittered with crystals - red, green, and blue. In the strange light, beautiful plants grew - giant orchids, star-shaped flowers, vines bursting with orange and purple berries that crept among the crystals. The cave floor was covered with soft green moss. Overhead, the ceiling was higher than a cathedral, sparkling like a galaxy of stars. In the center of the cave stood a Roman-style bed, gilded wood shaped like a curly U, with velvet cushions. Animals lounged around it - but they were animals that shouldn't have been alive. There was a dodo bird, something that looked like a cross between a wolf and tiger, a huge rodent like the mother of all guinea pigs, and roaming behind the bed, picking berries with its trunk, was a wooly mammoth.

On the bed lay an old satyr. He watched them as they approached, his eyes as blue as the sky. His curly hair was white and so was his pointed beard. Even the goat fur on his legs was frosted with gray. His horns were enormous - glossy brown and curved. Around his neck hung a gigantic set of reed pipes.

Grover fell to his knees in front of the bed. "Lord Pan!"

Leila reared back. Whoa. A god?

The god smiled kindly, but there was sadness in his eyes. "Grover, my dear, brave satyr. I have waited a very long time from you."

"I...got lost," Grover apologized.

Pan laughed. It was a wonderful sound, like the first breeze of springtime, filling the whole cavern with hope. Still, Pan looked tired. His whole form shimmered as if he was made of Mist.

Leila fell to her knees. She didn't care that the Olympians were a bunch of jerks. Pan was different. He filled her with a sense of hope and nostalgia for a better world. His realm had been destroyed by demigods and mortals, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Leila noticed Jackson standing like an idiot, gaping at the sight of Pan.

Jackson caught her glare, and he hurriedly fell to his knees, saying stupidly, "You have a humming dodo bird."

Leila smacked her forehead. His brain really _was _full of seaweed.

The god's eyes twinkled. "Yes, that's Dede. My little actress."

Dede the dodo looked offended.

"This is the most beautiful place!" Annabeth exclaimed. "It's better than any building ever designed."

"I'm glad you like it, dear," Pan said. "It is one of the last wild places. My realm above is gone, I'm afraid."

"My lord," Grover said, "please, you must come back with me! The Elders will never believe it! They'll be overjoyed! You can save the wild!"

Pan placed his hand on Grover's head and ruffled his curly hair. "You are so young, Grover. So good and true. I think I chose well."

"Chose?" Grover said. "I - I don't understand."

Pan's image flickered, momentarily turning to smoke.

"I have slept many eons," the god said forlornly. "My dreams have been dark. I wake fitfully, and each time my waking is shorter. Now we are near the end."

"What?" Grover cried. "But no! You're right here!"

"My dear satyr," Pan said. "I tried to tell the world, two thousand years ago. I announced it to Lysas, a satyr very much like you. He lived in Ephesos, and he tried to spread the word."

Leila's eyes widened, and she remembered, "The old story. A sailor passing by the coast of Ephesos heard a voice crying from the shore, 'Tell them the great god Pan is dead.'"

"But that wasn't true!" Grover said.

"Your kind never believed it," Pan said. "You sweet, stubborn satyrs refused to accept my passing. And I love you for that, but you only delayed the inevitable. It must end."

"No!" Grover's voice trembled.

"Dear Grover," Pan said. "You must accept the truth. Your companion, Nico, he understands."

Nico nodded slowly, his dark eyes filled with sadness. "He's dying. He should have died long ago. This...this is more like a memory."

"But gods can't die," Grover said.

"They can fade," Pan said, "when everything they stood for is gone. When they cease to have power, and their sacred places disappear. The wild, my dear Grover, is so small now, so shattered, that no god can save it."

Leila felt a lump rising in her throat.

The god continued, "My realm is gone. That is why I need you to carry a message. You must go back to the council. You must tell the satyrs, and the dryads, and the other spirits of nature, that the great god Pan _is _dead. Tell them of my passing. Because they must stop waiting for me to save them. I cannot. The only salvation you must make yourself. Each of you must -"

He stopped and frowned at the dodo bird, who had started humming again.

"Dede, what are you doing?" Pan demanded. "Are you singing _Kumbaya _again?"

Dede looked up innocently and blinked her yellow eyes.

Pan sighed. "Everybody's a cynic. But as I was saying, my dear Grover, each of you must take up my calling."

"But...no!" Grover whimpered.

"Be strong," Pan said. "You have found me. And now you must release me. You must carry on my spirit. It can no longer be carried by a god. It must be taken up by all of you."

Pan looked straight at Leila with his clear blue eyes, and she realized he wasn't just talking about the satyrs. He meant half-bloods, too, and humans. Everyone.

"Leila Brooke," the god said. "I will not try to convince you that the Olympians are just, or fair. I will not try to convince you that they always treat their children well. But I will tell you this: do not let your past define you. You control your own fate."

A tear traced its way down Leila's cheek.

"Percy Jackson," the god said, turning to him. "I know what you have seen today. I know your doubts. But I give you this news: when the time comes, you will not be ruled by fear."

He turned to Annabeth. "Daughter of Athena, your time is coming. You will play a great role, though it may not be the role you imagined."

Then he looked at Tyson. "Master Cyclops, do not despair. Heroes rarely live up to our expectations. But you, Tyson - your name shall live among the Cyclopes for generations. And Miss Rachel Dare..."

Rachel flinched when he said her name, like she had done something wrong. Leila immediately made the connection. Rachel Dare. Dare Enterprises. They had made the news a year ago when the police discovered the company clearing trees illegally at Yosemite.

Leila looked at Rachel. Guilt was written all over her face, and she avoided the god's eyes, but Pan only smiled. He raised his hand in a blessing.

"I know you believe you cannot make amends," he said. "But you are just as important as your father."

"I -" Rachel faltered.

"I know you don't believe this now," Pan said. "But look for opportunities. They will come."

Finally he turned back toward Grover. "My dear satyr," Pan said kindly, "will you carry my message?"

"I - I can't."

"You can," Pan said. "You are the strongest and bravest. Your heart is true. You have believed in me more than anyone ever has, which is why you must bring the message, and why you must be the first to release me."

"I don't want to."

"I know," the god said. "But my name, _Pan_...originally it meant _rustic_. Did you know that? But over the years it has come to mean _all_. The spirit of the wild must pass to all of you now. You must tell each one you meet: if you would find Pan, take up Pan's spirit. Remake the wild, a little at a time, each in your own corner of the world. You cannot wait for anyone else, even a god, to do that for you."

Grover wiped his eyes. Then slowly he stood. "I've spent my whole life looking for you. Now...I release you."

Pan smiled. "Thank you, dear satyr. My final blessing."

He closed his eyes, and the god dissolved. White mist divided into wisps of energy, and a curl of smoke went straight into Leila's mouth, and Grover, and the others. The crystals dimmed. The vines withered. And they were alone in a dark cave.

Leila stared at the empty bed, slowly realizing that she had just seen a god die.


	25. Flight

*****I know, I know. I haven't updated in forever, and I am honestly sorry. Believe me when I say that these past two weeks have been **_**crazy**_**. I literally took half an hour to write this chapter because I haven't had any time at all lately. The next update will be a lot faster, I guarantee it. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Leila's POV**

The redhead was good. Leila had to give her that.

Rachel navigated the group through the Labyrinth, bringing them from New Mexico to Times Square within an hour or two.

As they approached the dusty door to the basement of some fancy hotel, Leila wondered aloud, "There's another entrance to the Labyrinth in New York?"

"What do you mean, '_another_'?" Annabeth asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Oh, uh, nothing." Leila said quickly.

They clambered out of the basement and stood on the sidewalk in the bright summer daylight, squinting at the traffic and crowds.

No one gave them a second glance.

Leila couldn't decide which seemed less real - New York or the crystal cave where she'd watched a god die.

Jackson navigated through the crowds like a pro, ducking into an alley. Leila and the others followed him. Annabeth kept a firm grasp on Leila's arm, like she was afraid that she might escape.

Jackson whistled five times loudly, and the noise echoed in the alley.

While they waited for whatever was supposed to appear, Leila asked Jackson, "You're a New Yorker?"

It was pretty obvious. The way he navigated through the crowds, his taxi-cab whistle...

"Yeah." Jackson said.

Leila tapped her fingers to her lips for a moment. "Manhattan. Upper East side."

The son of Poseidon grinned, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. "How did you know?"

"I lived in New York for a while. And you talk as if you've have five cups of coffee. Typical Manhattan accent."

"Hey!"

Jackson's retort was interrupted as Rachel gasped, pointing at the sky. "They're beautiful!"

A flock of flying horses descended from the sky, swooping between the skyscrapers. A black pegasi was in the lead, followed by four white ones.

_Yo boss! _the black one said, directing his voice at Jackson. _You lived!_

"Yeah," Jackson said aloud, "I'm lucky that way."

"That pegasus is talking!" Leila yelled.

Jackson looked at her and chuckled. "Oh, I forgot that you've never met a pegasus. I can understand horses and water creatures and all that, and I'm guessing that you can too. It's a Poseidon thing."

_That girl is way too pretty to be your sister._ the black one snorted.

"_Anyway_," Jackson emphasized, ignoring the black one's comment. "we need a ride to camp _quick._"

_That's my specialty! Oh man, you got that Cyclops with you? Yo, Guido! How's your back holding up?_

The pegasus Guido groaned and complained, but eventually he agreed to carry Tyson. Rachel pulled Jackson aside and began to talk to him quietly.

Blackjack nuzzled Leila. _You can ride with me, boss number two._

"Please don't call me that." Leila said, boosting herself on Blackjack's back. "But thanks."

_Got any donuts?_

"What?"

_Ya know, those round things made out of sugar and -_

"Jee, let me just grab the box of donuts that I carry around with me everywhere - oh, whoops! I guess I forgot them in the maze." Leila said.

_Was that sarcasm? Pegasi aren't usually sarcastic. _Blackjack said, tossing his mane. _And I think you'd better help that weird demigod over there._

Leila looked to see where Blackjack's nose was pointing, and saw that Nico was having trouble. His pegasus kept shying away from him, reluctant to let him mount.

_He smells like dead people! _the pegasus complained.

_Hey now, _Blackjack said. _Come on, Porkpie. Lotsa demigods smell weird. It ain't their fault. Oh - uh, I didn't mean you, boss number two._

"Go without me!" Nico said. "I don't want to go back to that camp anyway."

"Nico," Annabeth said, "we need your help."

He folded his arms and scowled. Then Leila put her hand on his shoulder.

"Nico," she said. "Please."

To Leila's surprise, his expression slowly softened. "All right," he said reluctantly. "For _you_. But I'm not staying."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at Leila, like, _How come all of the sudden Nico listens to you? _Leila shrugged slightly and looked away.

Still, Porkpie shook his head. _Nuh uh. This pegasus is not taking any son of Hades._

Jackson came behind Leila abruptly, his expression neutral.

"Alright Porkpie." he said, "How about Leila goes along with you and Nico? She's a child of Poseidon too."

_Fine. _Porkpie puffed in defeat.

Leila saddled up with Nico behind her, and they shot into the air. Nico screamed like a little girl. Panicking, he unexpectedly locked his icy arms around Leila's waist.

"Jeez, Nico!" Leila hollered in surprise. "Wear mittens or something! Your hands are freezing!"

"Let me just pull out the mittens I carry in my pocket - oops, must have left them in the maze." Nico said, doing a bad imitation of Leila's voice.

"Oh shut up, Death Boy."

Soon, they were over the East River with Long Island spread out before them.

* * *

*****I hoped you liked that little Leila-Nico bonding scene. Please review!**


	26. Fainted

**Percy's POV**

The cold wind felt good on Percy's face, and his tired eyes snapped open in the wind.

He gazed at the coastline of New York rushing past him.

Turning to the side, he yelled, "Nico, you doing alright?"

The son of Hades shook his head, his face green. Nico had his arms tightly wrapped around Leila's waist, and his lips were pressed tightly together, as if he was going to throw up.

"If you barf on me, I'm throwing you overboard." Leila threatened.

Her face was pink with the cold and her eyes were bright with exhilaration. But her scars and bruises looked more livid than ever in the harsh sunlight. She caught Percy's gaze and grinned for a brief moment, surprising him.

Her grin melted off her face, and her pupils dilated. Leila doubled over on Porkpie's back, and she gasped, _"No!"_

"Land over there, guys!" Percy shouted, pointing at a strip of sand nearby.

_Boss, what's wrong with -_

"Blackjack, please!"

Without hesitation, the pegasus jerked his head to the left and landed at the tiny, deserted beach. Leila rolled off Porkpie's back and fell hard on the sand. Nico dismounted and scrambled backwards in fear.

Annabeth stepped forward, her dagger raised in a dangerous position.

"Annabeth, don't!" Percy said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She jerked her shoulder out of Percy's grasp, growling, "She's not your sister anymore, Percy. She's Kronos."

"That's not -"

Leila moved jerkily, her shoulders twisting backward gruesomely. Her head snapped forward, and her eyes opened, shining with a fierce golden light. Her face turned towards Percy, and a disturbing smile curved her lips.

"_Perseus Jackson,_" she rasped in underlays of Kronos' voice. _"I have orders to kill you. And I always follow orders from Master. Prepare to die._"

* * *

**Leila's POV**

_"Perseus Jackson," she said, a smile stretching across her face. "I have orders to kill you. And I always follow orders from Master. Prepare to die."_

_She did not have to make any attempt to form the words; they came naturally to her lips._

_She moved her hand upwards, and a gust of water erupted out of the ocean. Master controlled her limbs for her, and she easily raised thousands of gallons of water above her head. Just as she was prepared to throw the saltwater, the teenager with green eyes yelled, "Leila, stop!"_

_Who is this Leila? she wondered dully._

_She threw the mass of water at the boy, and the boy raised his arms, shutting his eyes tightly together in concentration. The water evaporated, forming clouds of vapor which rose to the sky._

_"Remember who you are." the boy begged, opening his eyes. "Remember your mom."_

_She wouldn't take commands from this silly boy._

_**Yes. You are a servant of Kronos. You have no mother.** Master's voice said in her head._

_"I am a servant of Kronos," she said obediently. "I have no mother."_

_"You aren't a servant of Kronos. You're Leila Brooke." the boy said._

**_Leila Brooke no longer exists. She died in front of the coffin, when her master came back to life. She is now a slave to the Lord of Time._**

_"Leila Brooke is dead. She died in front of the coffin, when her master came back to life. She is now a slave to the Lord of Time." she repeated._

_"She's gone, Seaweed Brain," the blond girl hissed. "Let's get to camp while we can."_

_"Enough games," Master commanded her. "Arm yourself. Kill the boy. He is no match to you in a sword fight."_

_She turned around and walked towards the other boy, the one with pale skin and dark eyes. He watched her from the safety of a pegasus, and was smart enough to not start a fight with her. She picked up the Stygian iron sword lying near him, and met no resistance._

_"I'm really sorry for this, Leila." the pale skinned boy said apologetically. "But it's the only way."_

_He commanded, "Blackjack, kick her in the head!"_

_A horse hoof came in front of her face, and -_

* * *

"Jackson?" Leila asked, puzzled. "Why did we stop here? Aren't we heading to camp?"

She paused for a moment, looking into Jackson's scared green eyes. "Uh...why are you staring at me like that?"

* * *

**Percy's POV**

"I'm really sorry for this, Leila." Nico said sincerely. "But it's the only way. Blackjack, kick her in the head!"

Blackjack raised his hoof and slammed onto Leila's forehead.

Percy winced as her head snapped backwards. Her eyes flickered from golden to sea-green.

She turned to Percy and said, bewildered, "Jackson? Why did we stop here? Aren't we heading to camp?"

Leila tilted her head to the side. "Uh...why are you staring at me like that?"

Percy looked away. "Um, Leila, you kinda -"

" - fainted." Annabeth butted in. Responding to Leila's suspicious expression, she added quickly, "From the rapid change in altitude."

"Did I, really?" Leila said, confused. "I never faint."

"Happens to everyone." Annabeth lied smoothly.

"Okay." Leila said in a neutral tone, but Percy could tell that she didn't really believe Annabeth.

"What was that about?" Percy whispered to Annabeth.

She rolled her eyes. "Do you know what would've happened if she found out? We would've wasted more time trying to convince her that the Kronos episode actually happened, and then tried figured out a solution."

Percy flinched from the acid in her tone. "Why do you hate her?"

Annabeth moved back and glared at Percy. He immediately knew that he'd asked the wrong question. "_Hate_ her? I don't hate her. But I'm just trying to protect _you_, Kelp Head!"

She marched angrily to her pegasus and boosted herself on its back.

She glared at Leila for a minute, and her expression softened.

"Brooke, you'd better put this on." Annabeth said, throwing at sweatshirt at her.

Leila caught it in surprise. "Why?" she demanded. "It's like, 80 degrees outside."

"Trust me on this one." Annabeth grumbled.

Leila reluctantly pulled on the sweatshirt, hiding the scars on her wrists and arms. But nothing could hide the horrible cuts and bruises on her face.

Percy's train of thought was disturbed by Blackjack's voice:_ What was that about, boss? And why did boss number two -_

"Blackjack, I promise I'll explain later. We've got a camp to save."


	27. Enemy

**Percy's POV**

They landed in the middle of an area surrounded by cabins, and were immediately met by a Chiron, the satyr Silenus, and a couple of Apollo cabin archers.

The centaur raised an eyebrow when he saw Nico, and as his gaze moved to Leila, his expression brightened.

"Ah, Leila Brooke!" he exclaimed, clasping her hand in his.

Leila flinched, and jerked her hand back like she'd been burnt. "I shouldn't be here." she said, looking around nervously.

"Nonsense," Chiron said. "That's how all demigods feel when they arrive at Camp Half-Blood."

Leila winced and pressed her fingertips to her temples. "No, I'm serious. I need to get out of here. And how did you know my name?"

"Your friend - ah - _mentioned _you a few times."

"Friend?"

"Mr. Wyse, of course!"

"Chiron." Annabeth interrupted. "I hate to spoil the moment, but we have more urgent issues to deal with."

Leila shrank back guiltily as Annabeth described the latest news about Quintus being Daedalus, and Kronos rising.

"I feared as much," Chiron said. "We must hurry. Hopefully you have slowed down the Titan lord, but his vanguard will still be coming through. They will be anxious for blood. Most of our defenders are already in place. Come!"

"Wait a moment," Silenus demanded. "What of the search for Pan? You are almost three weeks overdue, Grover Underwood! Your searcher's license is revoked!"

Grover took a deep breath. He stood up straight and looked Silenus in the eye. "Searcher's licenses don't matter anymore. The great god Pan is dead. He has passed on and left us his spirit."

"_What_? Impossible! You are all liars! Nature-destroyers! Grover Underwood, I will have you exiled for speaking such lies!"

"Silenus," Chiron cut in. "My camp is under attack. The matter of Pan has waited two thousand years. I fear it will have to wait a bit longer. Assuming we are still here this evening."

The centaur studied Leila's face, and added, "And we will speak of_ you_ later."

And on that happy note, he readied his bow and galloped towards the woods, leaving them to follow as best as they could.

* * *

It was the biggest military operation Percy had ever seen at camp. Everyone was at the clearing, dressed in full battle armor, but this time it wasn't for capture the flag. The Hephaestus cabin had set up traps around the entrance to the Labyrinth - razor wire, pits filled with pots of Greek fire, rows of sharpened sticks to deflect a charge.

It seemed like pretty good setup, but Leila muttered next to him, "It isn't enough."

Jake Mason and Michael Yew came running over with battle maps.

"Percy, we're going to need you over here." Michael said, pointing at the area near the Apollo cabin's location.

Leila took the map from Michael's grasp and studied it for a few moments.

"Hey, what do you think you're -"

"No." Leila disagreed, shaking her head. "You're going to need Jackson over by the Ares cabins' front line."

"How would you know?" Jake demanded sharply.

Ignoring him, Leila said, tracing her finger across the page, "And the Athena cabin's formation is way too close to the entrance of the Labyrinth. You need to pull them back, otherwise they'll be wiped out by the Laistrygonian giants."

Michael's eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of their sockets.

"You were on the other side, weren't you?" Jake said, narrowing his eyes and snatching the map back from her.

"Does it matter?" Leila said dangerously, grabbing the front of Jake's shirt. "Your camp will be destroyed if you don't listen to what I say! So move the Athena cabin's formation _back_."

Michael and Jake gaped at her for a heartbeat.

"NOW!" Leila yelled, and they scrambled to follow her orders.

Percy stared at her. "How did you know all of that?"

"I was supposed to lead this attack." she said tiredly, her eyes looking haunted in the shadows of the trees.

"Do we stand a chance?"

"No." Leila said softly. "Not at all."

* * *

**Leila's POV**

"How can you say that?" Jackson said, grabbing her arm. "Camp Half-Blood is my _home_, and you're telling me that we can't save it?"

"It's not possible." Leila said quietly. "Believe me when I say that you guys can put up a good fight, but you can't win."

"Why not?" yelled Jackson angrily. A couple of half-bloods stopped their preparations and stared at them.

"Because you're outnumbered about a hundred to one. And because you're going to need a huge backup force to push Kronos' army back even a little bit."

"Then help us," Jackson said. "Tell us where to move our forces. Fight with us!"

Leila bit her lip. "I can tell you where to move your forces, but I can't fight with you."

He furrowed his eyebrows together, and suddenly said, "Kronos is inside you. You don't know when he's going to possess you again."

She clenched her fist, making the scars on the back of her hand turn white momentarily. "Gee, just announce it to the whole camp, will you, Jackson?"

"Sorry." he muttered.

Then, a new and strangely familiar voice came out of the shadows.

"Well, you seem to know quite a lot about Kronos' army, don't you, Leila?"

* * *

**Who do you think this "new and strangely familiar" voice belongs to?**


	28. Changed

**Keaton's POV**

_15 minutes earlier_

"Keaton." a stern voice said behind him.

Keaton continued to work on the catapult he was priming, testing the rope to see if it was firm. "Hey, Jake." he said, without turning around.

"_Keaton._" Jake Mason said again, tapping his shoulder.

"What?" he said, irritated, looking at the son of Hephaestus. "Look man, I'm really busy with this -"

"You know that girl you were telling us about?" Jake interrupted. "Well, I think I found her."

"_What?_" Keaton exclaimed, letting go of the rope. "Wh-where is she?"

"With Percy." Jake said coldly.

Keaton narrowed his eyes, trying to process his hostile mood. "Did she offend you or something? Why are you looking like that?"

Jake's fingers were a blur as he undid Keaton's work on the rope and redid it in a matter of seconds. He sighed heavily, and put his hands on his knees.

"It's just that...well, I don't know. Michael and I went up to Percy, showing him some battle maps, and that girl suddenly started spouting out a bunch of inside information. I'm sorry, Keaton. But I think she's a servant of Kronos."

Keaton felt his heart slowly turning to ice. "That's not possible. She must have accidentally...overheard some invasion plans when she was in the Labyrinth."

Jake shook his head. "I doubt it."

"Then why is she here?" Keaton said harshly. Jake shrugged.

"I have no idea. No one's ever switched over from Kronos' side to Camp Half Blood's before." Jake said, mystified. Then, his face hardened. "I've had plenty of friends join Kronos' army before. And it's tough to deal with. My advice is: don't trust her. I don't care that she was your best friend at one point. She's not anymore. Keaton? Keaton, wait!"

But he was already gone.

* * *

**Keaton's POV**

Keaton ran towards the clearing, shoving aside demigods and knocking over rows of weapons.

"Wyse, you will _die _for this!" A daughter of Ares screamed at him.

Then, he spotted her. The girl he had agonized over for so many months, the girl he had searched and waited for. His best friend.

Keaton scowled and corrected himself. His _acquaintance. _

Leila had always been a rebel, but to join Kronos' side..she must be pure evil.

Her back was turned to Keaton, and she was talking quietly with Percy. Percy said something that Keaton couldn't quite catch, something like, "Kronos...inside...possess..."

Leila clenched her hands into fists, and said sharply, "Gee, just announce it to the whole camp, will you, Jackson?"

Keaton's vision turned red. Leila _never _talked like that. She never addressed someone by their last name, and she definitely never talked with as much harshness in her voice as she did now.

Percy bit his lip, and mumbled an apology.

Keaton couldn't stand it anymore. He stepped forward and said, "Well, you seem to know quite a lot about Kronos' army, don't you, Leila?"

She turned around, and Keaton's heart stopped. He almost couldn't recognize the girl standing in front of him. Leila's face was covered with bruises and open wounds, and her hands - the skin on her hands were cut and sliced in every possible way. Keaton was glad that she was wearing a sweatshirt. He didn't want to know what her arms looked like. Her ratty hair didn't seem quite as dark, and her eyes were a dull green. And she didn't look twelve years old. She looked like she had lived for an eternity.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Keaton's scowl faded, and he stared at her, his eyes bulging. Leila scanned his face, noting that he had shot up in height in the last couple of months, outgrowing her. His dark hair had grown out, and it was combed neatly to the side, as always. His gray eyes searched hers. Leila couldn't shake the feeling that his sad expression made him look so much older than twelve.

"What happened to you?" Keaton said quietly.

"You don't want to know." Leila said softly.

"I think I do! I want to know what happened to my best friend! You joined Kronos? He's evil! Leila, how could you?" Keaton said, his voice rising in anger.

Something inside Leila deflated, and she said, forcing herself to be calm, "I was lost, Keaton. I was scared, and I was alone in the Labyrinth. I could have died in there any second! What other option did I have?"

"You could have found a way out!" Keaton said fiercely. "I know you could have, Leila, I know you!"

"No, you don't."

"Excuse me?"

"You don't know me like you used to." She stepped closer to Keaton, getting close to his face. "How _dare _you accuse me of being in Kronos' army! If you haven't noticed, I'm here now! I'm offering you guys help because I _want _you guys to win! You have no idea what I have been through, Keaton, so don't -"

Before Leila could continue, a searing pain shot through her arm. Her muscles seized up, and her vision turned blurry. She swayed, and fell hard on her back, knocking out the air from her lungs.

_It's time. _chuckled an evil voice. _Your big moment, Leila Brooke. In minutes, my army will attack this silly camp. And you shall lead the attack._

She was dimly aware of people shouting, surrounding her.

"No. Get away...please..." she said weakly, trying to raise her arms.

_You know, I should thank that brother of yours. _sneered Kronos, _He is the one, after all, who brought you in the camp. Now I can crush it more effectively. _

"No!" gasped Leila, and another shock of agony arched her back. "There are little kids here! Don't - "

"Leila! Leila, stay with me here." Keaton said sharply, shaking her shoulders.

Her fingers found Jackson's sleeve and she tugged on it lightly, croaking, "Jackson, Kronos is coming."

He nodded grimly in understanding and yelled, "GET BACK, EVERYBODY!"

Another surge of pain coursed through her limbs, and her tattoos burned savagely. Only Keaton was close enough to see the scythe tattoo glowing golden on her neck.

His eyes widened, and his fingers trembled. But he didn't move back.

Leila clutched the dirt, and thought desperately, _Please, not now. Not in front of so many campers. _

_Ah, yes. _murmured Kronos. _But you asked for it, didn't you, my dear?_


	29. Kronos

****AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter may be a little confusing, because I'm alternating between Leila, Kronos, and Kronos-Leila when talking about her, so bear with me here. I should warn you that this isn't one of my best chapters, I'm still getting headaches from that really bad cold I was having earlier. Anyway, please remember to review!**

* * *

**Keaton's POV**

Percy's attempts to keep back the crowd of campers were failing horribly, until Annabeth pushed through. Her face was grim with understanding, and she marched into the middle of the ring, shouting, "This camp is ABOUT TO BE ATTACKED! GET BACK TO YOUR POSITIONS!"

"No." said Jake Mason, shoving aside demigods, and pointing a shaking finger at Leila. "She's dangerous! She shouldn't even be here!"

Leila screamed loudly - a long, high-pitched scream which echoed throughout the forest.

"Leila! It's okay, I'm here!" Keaton said, panicking.

"No! Keaton, you've got to get awa-" a gasp interrupted her statement, and the muscles in her face relaxed.

Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her body grew still. Smoke rose from the ugly tattoo on her neck.

Keaton shook her shoulders so hard that her teeth rattled, but she still didn't respond.

"LEILA! LEILA, NO!" He smacked her face as hard as possible, but her eyes didn't open.

"She's fine, Keaton." Annabeth said, her tone firm. "You need to get away from her."

"_What? _Annabeth, you're crazy if you think -"

"Get _away _from her." she repeated, her gray eyes as cold as ice. "I don't want my brother getting hurt."

Keaton stayed where he was stubbornly.

"Fine," Annabeth sighed. "But I warned you."

Leila's skin began to grow warm, gradually becoming hotter and hotter until Keaton felt like his palms were burning off.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, examining his hands, which were now bright red.

Leila slowly opened her eyes, and Keaton froze in place.

Her eyes...her eyes weren't green anymore.

They were pure gold.

* * *

**Percy's POV**

The emotions of the crowd of demigods changed from concern to panic in a heartbeat.

A daughter of Aphrodite screamed loudly, pointing behind Percy's shoulder.

Just when he started to say, "Wha -", something slammed him into the ground.

Leila Brooke stood above him with Keaton's sword in her hands, with her golden eyes glittering with amusement, and a cold smile curving her lips.

"_Miss me?_" she said in a cold voice. She slammed the tip of the sword towards Percy's face, but luckily, he rolled over just in time.

"She's a traitor!" roared Michael Yew.

"Kill her!" yelled someone else.

But there was so much confusion that no one really heard what they were saying.

Leila-Kronos smiled again, and she looked around.

"_Camp Half-Blood,_" Leila said, amusement in her voice, "_where brats are trained to be heroes. Yes, I'll enjoy seeing it in flames." _

Percy couldn't help but notice that she was talking more and more like Kronos now, as if the Titan was _in _her, instead of controlling her.

He drew Riptide and yelled, "Leave Leila! Get out of her body!"

She snarled and stabbed downward, catching Percy in the shoulder. Pain exploded in his left side, and he sidestepped, swinging Riptide at Leila's neck.

Leila easily blocked the strike, and knocked the sword out of Percy's hands.

He stared at Leila in shock. He hadn't been disarmed that quickly before - not since Luke had trained him in his first year at Camp Half-Blood.

Kronos-Leila dug the tip of her sword under Percy's chin, and chuckled. "_You have failed, Percy Jackson. You have failed in bringing your sister back to what she used to be._"

"Sister?" gasped Michael Yew.

"_Oh yes. Leila was a daughter of Poseidon. A mistake, to be more precise. Her anger at that dratted sea god has been a valuable tool._" Kronos said.

Clarisse burst out of the crowd and aimed her spear at Leila's chest, but Leila leisurely sidestepped, grabbed the spear, and snapped it in half.

"_Clarisse la Rue..._" Leila mused, "_...the daughter of Ares. Always struggling, always outshadowed by her brothers. Your father is ashamed of you, you know. Of your failure to face your fears of the Labyrinth -"_

"I AM NOT A COWARD!" roared Clarisse.

Leila raised her eyebrows, and said nothing. She turned back to Percy and smiled cruelly.

"_Once I kill you, Leila will be the child of the Prophecy. And she will choose to bring down Olympus._"

* * *

**Keaton's POV**

Keaton tackled Leila from behind, and her head slammed against the ground. She sneered at Keaton, and punched him in the face.

He staggered back, blood running from the corner of his mouth. She kicked him in the stomach, hard, and he fell on his knees.

"We're friends, Leila." he gasped, clutching his chest.

"_Leila Brooke knows no friendship. Not as my slave._" Kronos-Leila scowled.

"Friendship, Leila. Kronos never understood that." groaned Keaton.

Leila's eyes flickered from gold to sea-green for a moment, and she gazed at the sword in her hand, at the blood on Keaton's face.

"Best friends." she murmured in her regular voice. Then, a shudder ran through her, and her eyes glowed golden again.

"_Daughter of Poseidon, I will NOT -" _

"Yes, you will." Leila's voice and eyes returned to normal again. "I fight for Camp Half-Blood. You will never control me again."

She gasped and staggered backwards, clutching the tattoo on her neck. Her hand twisted gruesomely and moved against her will towards the sleeve on her sweatshirt.

Her eyes turned golden again, and Kronos-Leila ripped off the cloth covering her left arm.

Keaton could just make out the word, "TRAITOR" crudely cut into Leila's flesh.

Kronos laughed and said, "_You think you've won, Leila Brooke. But I can hear your thoughts and control everything you do. You are still a traitor. And you may deny it, but we are very much alike."_

Leila's eyes turned green again and she hissed, "You're wrong. You're WRONG!"

She fell on her hands and knees, and clenched her fists. Her voice changed yet again.

"_My army comes even now, slave. There won't be a Camp Half-Blood to fight for once they're done. You have a choice. I will spare you if you lead the attack. However, if you fight with these wretched demigods, your punishment will be beyond anything you have ever imagined. Choose wisely." _And with a last chuckle, Kronos' voice faded away, and Leila slumped weakly against the ground.

The campers unfroze, and everyone started talking at once, backing away from the daughter of Poseidon.

"I say we kill her." growled Clarisse.

Percy lunged towards Clarisse, and his sword at her neck. He growled, "No one touches my sister."

"Your _sister _is possessed by Kronos." piped up Malcolm. "It's clear that she's on our side, but we just can't take the risk. I'm sorry, Percy."

"When did you suddenly start taking the decisions around here, Malcolm?" said Annabeth. "I say we ask Chiron."

There was a general rumble of agreement.

"Jackson, they're coming." murmured Leila's feeble voice.

"What?" Percy said, leaning in.

"They're coming." she repeated. "Kronos' army."


	30. Another Author's Note? Really?

*****AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**While you guys are waiting for the next chapter to be posted, I've written a short one-shot called, "Discovery" to keep you occupied as you wait. The story is basically about how Annabeth and Percy discover the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series in their local library.**

**So check out the story, it's pretty awesome!**

**Anyway, a quick reminder that I have DELETED the last annoying author's note I posted in this story and REPLACED it with a new chapter, so be sure to check that out too!**

**Expect the next chapter of "The Pawn of Kronos" to come out later this week!**


	31. The Battle Begins

****Author's Note: PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE READ THE LAST CHAPTER. This chapter will make no sense at all if you haven't. I am so sorry for the delay. High school is incredibly stressful, so please understand that in order for these chapters to be good, it will take me a while between each update. I've made this chapter twice as long as the others to make up for the time that you guys have waited. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Percy's POV**

As soon as those words left Leila's mouth, the ground underneath Percy started to tremble.

"Keaton!" Annabeth said.

He immediately understood, scooping up a limp Leila in his arms and running towards the cabins.

Percy drew his sword, and Clarisse barked a single order: "Lock shields!"

Then the Titan lord's army exploded from the Labyrinth.

* * *

The first thing that Percy registered was the dozens of Laistrygonian giants erupting from the ground, yelling so loudly that his ears felt like bursting.

_Leila was right. _Percy thought in awe. If the Athena cabin had been in their original positions, they would've been flattened.

"Fire!" Beckendorf yelled. The catapults swung into action. Two boulders hurtled towards the giants. One deflected off a car shield with hardly a dent, but the other caught a Laistrygonian in the chest, and the giant went down. Apollo's archers fired a volley, dozens of arrows sticking in the thick armor of the giants like porcupine quills.

But just when it looked like the Laistrygonians were about to get overwhelmed, the next wave surged out of the maze: thirty, maybe forty _dracaenae _in full battle armor, but many more kept coming. Argus and Athena's warriors rushed forward to meet them.

Percy saw Annabeth draw a sword and engage one of them. Nearby, Tyson was riding a giant, hitting him on the head with a bronze shield - _BONG! BONG! BONG! _

Chiron trotted behind him and calmly aimed arrow after arrow, taking down a monster with every shot.

"GO!" Chiron yelled at him.

Percy drew Riptide and charged.

As he raced across the battlefield, he searched for the places which needed the most help. A giant almost stepped on him, until Percy stabbed his sword on the underside of his foot. The giant bellowed in pain and slowly dissolved into yellow dust.

An enemy half-blood jumped in front of Percy and began to duel with him. Percy slammed the butt of his sword into his helmet, and the half-blood collapsed.

That was...almost too easy.

Percy looked around, and he found himself completely surrounded by enemy half-bloods, sneering and jeering at him.

"It's a trap." he said aloud.

"Of course, you idiot." one of the half-bloods smiled evilly at him, a person who might have once been his friend.

The enemy began closing in, and Percy had nowhere to run.

Suddenly, a lithe girl leaped over his head and took down around five enemy demigods, stabbing and whirling like a killing machine. Percy drew his sword and he fought back to back with the girl, bringing down all of the demigods who had encircled him.

"Thanks." he gasped, after all of them fell, whimpering on the grass.

"You owe me one, Jackson." the girl said, pulling off her helmet. Her long dark hair tumbled across her shoulders, and Percy exhaled sharply.

"_Leila?_"

* * *

**Keaton's POV**

_20 minutes ago_

Keaton filled his lungs with air and exhaled slowly, heaving Leila along towards the forest area near the cabins. Her hair tickled his chin, and her eyelids fluttered. Tears ran from the corners of her eyes, smudging her dark eyeliner.

"When did you start wearing makeup?" Keaton muttered.

"Does it bother you?" Leila smirked, her eyes still closed.

"Uh...no." Keaton lied.

"Where exactly are you planning on taking me?" she asked, changing the subject.

"The infirmary." Keaton said firmly. "You need to wait out this battle."

"_What?_" Leila said, flailing her limbs. "No! I need to fight!"

"But you just said a second ago -"

"Yes, I know." Leila scowled. "But Kronos isn't coming again anytime soon, and I can tell. Do you want this camp destroyed or not?"

Keaton scowled back even more fiercely. "You can't fight in your condition!"

Leila's eyes darted around quickly, and she said, "Turn left here. There'll be a creek, and I'll feel better if I go in it."

Keaton raised his eyebrows. "How did you know that?"

She looked at him warily, and said reluctantly, "I memorized the map of Camp Half-Blood."

"So you could destroy it?"

"Well, yes."

"Impressive. I didn't know you could read." he teased.

"Oh, shut up, Wise Guy. And you can put me down."

Keaton gently placed her on her feet and sighed in relief, massaging his sore arms.

Leila rolled her eyes and walked towards the creek, trying to downplay the limp in her left leg. As she stepped into the water, her cuts and bruises slowly faded. Her skin regained its color, and her eyes began to sparkle.

She exhaled slowly, and muttered, "I didn't think that would work."

"Why?" asked Keaton curiously.

Leila ignored him and shoved up the sleeve on her left arm. She scowled and said, "Looks like it hasn't completely worked."

Keaton came over to look. He saw that the tattoo was still branded on her skin and the word, "TRAITOR" remained marked on her arm.

"Wow, Dad. Thanks for reminding me. I'm a full-blown traitor, aren't I?" Leila said bitterly.

"That could be Kronos, you know. You don't have to blame your dad." Keaton said quickly.

"Come on, Keaton. It's obvious that Poseidon doesn't care. Why else would the water leave this?" she said, tapping the marks.

"Well -" BOOM! BOOM! The ground underneath their feet began to shake.

Keaton froze. "It's started."

Leila's eyes widened, and she sprinted towards the clearing.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Leila grabbed a helmet and shoved it on her head. There was no time to strap on armor, so she hastily grabbed a sword which was way too big for her, and dashed across the battlefield.

An enemy half-blood was fighting with an orange-shirted camper, but it wasn't much of a contest. The camper slammed the butt of his sword on the enemy's head, and he went down.

That couldn't be right. The enemy half-bloods were way better trained than that. Unless -

"It's a trap." the camper said aloud.

"Of course, you idiot." one of the half-bloods sneered.

It was a good trick - one of Kronos' soldiers would serve as the bait, and in the meantime, a dozen or so others would surround the victim, quickly killing them.

Leila would know.

The camper turned around, wide-eyed, realizing that he was surrounded, and Leila gasped.

It was Percy Jackson.

She ran as fast as she could and broke through the ring of enemy demigods, half-bloods who used to be her friends. She leaped over Jackson's head and took out around five enemy demigods. Mark, Chloe, Jaiden...

Leila stepped back until her shoulders were pressed against Jackson's, and they fought like they were born to work together.

The last enemy demigod collapsed - Jake - whimpering for his mommy.

Jackson rested his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Thanks." he muttered.

"You owe me one, Jackson." she grinned, pulling off her helmet.

His eyes widened, and he said, "_Leila?_"

"The one and only." she said, enjoying the look of shock on his face.

"B-but you - you were just with -" Jackson stuttered. Leila smacked him on the shoulder.

"You'll have time to stutter later. Come on!"

Jackson shook his head in confusion, and raced off. Leila was about to follow, until an awfully familiar voice stopped her.

"Not so fast, traitor. I'm not done with you yet."

With a horrible sense of dread, Leila slowly turned around. She came face-to-face with the snarling daughter of Hecate, whose palm was filled with Greek fire.

Fast as light, the servant of Kronos had Leila pinned to the floor.

"Keira, don't do this." Leila said softly.

"You betrayed me. You betrayed Kronos. You're a _traitor_!" Keira screamed, but her sword arm shook.

"Kronos LIED to get me on his side! He even told me that my mother was dead!" Leila yelled.

"I was wrong about you." Keira said, bring the fire dangerously close to Leila's hair. "I thought that you would rather die than join this wretched camp."

Leila swung herself forward and slammed the daughter of Hecate's head against the floor. "Fight with me, Keira, and I swear that there will be a cabin for your mom here."

"I will _never _fight with you!" Keira said, but her voice trembled.

"Camp Half-Blood is wrong in stuffing all the unclaimed kids in the Hermes cabin." Leila continued. "But I swear that your brothers and sisters will get the recognition they deserve."

"How can I trust you! You -"

"You think that Kronos will let Hecate have a throne? You honestly think that?" Leila said coldly. "Mark my words, he will throw you away like you're _nothing _to him when the war is over."

"I -" Keira's face filled with hurt and betrayal. "I don't believe you."

"He did the same to me, Keira, what makes you so different?"

The fire extinguished from her palm, and she struggled to get up. She grasped Leila's hand and glared at her. "My mom will get her own cabin. _Promise _me that she will."

"On my life." Leila vowed, and Keira smiled fiercely.

* * *

A dozen _dracaenae _suddenly broke away from the main fight and slithered down the path that led toward camp, like they knew where they were going. If they got out, they could burn down the entire place, completely unopposed.

The only person anywhere near was Nico di Angelo. He stabbed a telekhine, and his black Stygian blade absorbed the monster's essence, drinking its energy until there was nothing left but dust.

"Nico!" Leila yelled.

He looked where she was pointing, saw the serpent women, and immediately understood.

He took a deep breath and held out his black sword.

"Serve me," he called.

The earth trembled. A fissure opened in front of the _dracaenae_, a dozen undead warrior crawled from the earth - horrible corpses in military uniforms from all different time periods - U.S. Revolutionaries, Roman centurions, Napoleonic cavalry on skeletal horses. As one, they drew their swords and engaged the _dracaenae. _Nico crumpled to his knees.

A hellhound leaped towards him and would have clawed him to pieces if Leila hadn't jumped in the way. She fell backwards with the hellhound on top of her.

"Um...nice hellhound. Good hellhound." Leila said weakly. She groped around for her sword, and her fingers closed around a clay jar - a container of Greek fire. She tossed it into the hellhound's maw, and the creature went up in flames. Leila scrambled away, breathing heavily.

She dragged Nico out of the line of fire, and her heart stopped beating for a moment as she heard an unearthly shriek echo out of the Labyrinth.

"Kampê." Leila scowled. The monster shot into the sky, her bat wings fully extended. She landed on top of a stone structure and surveyed the carnage. She drew her curved swords, and the blades glowed green in poison. Kampê screeched in triumph, and some of the campers screamed. Others tried to run and got trampled by hellhounds or giants.

"_Di Immortales_." Leila muttered. Kampê landed on the Athena command tent, smashing it flat. Jackson ran after the monster and fought with Annabeth, leaping in the monster's path.

Kampê hissed and sliced at them, and Jackson dodged, trying to distract her. Annabeth went in for a strike, but the monster blocked Annabeth's sword. Jackson coughed as he got a mouthful of acid fog, and Annabeth couldn't get close enough without being blasted by a cloud of poison.

"Come on!" Jackson shouted to no one in particular. "We need help!"

"I guess this is where I come in." Leila sighed, and she drew her sword.

* * *

**Percy's POV**

Leila charged at Kampê, dodged the monster's slashes, got inside her guard, and almost..._almost _managed to stab Kampê in the chest, but a huge bear's head lashed out from the monster's waist. Its teeth snapped at Percy and Annabeth, and they would've gotten bitten if Leila hadn't shoved them out of the way.

She cried out in pain as the teeth sunk into her side.

"NO!" Percy yelled.

Leila grimaced, and clutched her bleeding waist. She glared at him, and said, "I'm fine, Jackson. Just go!"

_Slam! _

Percy's eyesight went black. The next thing he knew, he and Annabeth were on the ground. The monster had its forelegs on their chests, holding them down. Hundreds of snakes slithered right above him, hissing like laughter. Kampê raised her green-tinged swords, and Percy knew that he was out of options.

Then, behind him, something howled. A wall of darkness slammed into Kampê, sending the monster sideways. And Mrs. O'Leary was standing over them, snarling and snapping at Kampê.

"Good girl!" said a familiar voice. Daedalus was fighting his way out of the Labyrinth, slashing down enemies left and right as he made his way toward us. Next to him was someone else - a familiar giant, much taller than the Laistrygonians, with a hundred rippling arms, each holding a huge chunk of rock.

"Briares!" Tyson cried in wonder.

Percy scrambled to his feet and helped Annabeth up. They ran to Leila, who was curled up into a ball.

"Will you stop saving my life? It's getting pretty annoying." Percy said, kneeling to examine her injury.

"It is actually pretty annoying." Leila said, her eyes glazed over.

"The wound is poisoned." Annabeth said softly. "Leila, you didn't have to -"

"Yes, I did." Leila interrupted. "Just go. Save the camp for me, will you?"

"Under one condition." said Percy firmly.

Leila raised her eyebrows. "Only one?"

He continued, "You stop calling me 'Jackson'."

She smiled faintly. "All right then...Percy."

He grinned at the way it sounded, until Annabeth screamed, "NO!"

Percy whipped around, and he watched in horror as the giants surged forward in a last desperate attempt. One surprised Chiron with a glancing blow to the back legs, and he stumbled and fell. Six giants cried in glee and rushed forward.

Percy ran to Chiron's aid, but he was too far away to help.

Then it happened. Grover opened his mouth, and the most horrible sound he'd ever heard came out. It was like a brass trumpet magnified a thousand times - the sound of pure fear.

* * *

*****The story doesn't end here. There's still a lot of complications left...**

**If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out, "Discovery", a one-shot Percy Jackson fic that I've published last week!**


	32. Not Worth It

****AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know. It's been a long time since I last updated. But I simply haven't had the will to write ever since my dad told me that he was transferring me to another high school. I've been having a rough two weeks, so please try to understand. **

**I have no idea when I'm going to update next, but I will definitely update within this or next week.**

* * *

**Keaton's POV**

"Leila!" Keaton shouted, limping through the clearing. "LEILA!"

He tripped over tree roots and searched desperately for the daughter of Poseidon. Something caught on his foot, and he fell on his face.

"Ow!" he said, spitting dirt out of his mouth.

Keaton turned his head to see what he had slipped on. He stopped abruptly as he saw a girl lying on the ground.

He knelt down and shook her shoulders a bit. "Hey, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

He took the girl's hand even though it was blazing hot, and he heard her mutter something he could barely catch. Something like: "San…you…were there…who"

"What?" he asked.

The girl struggled to speak again, and Keaton leaned in to hear what she was saying.

"Don't try..." she whispered. "Don't try to save me."

Alarmed, Keaton took off the girl's helmet, and his heart stopped.

The girl's eyes slowly closed, and a slight smile was on her lips. Her hands were folded beneath her cheek, as if she were sleeping. And her face was turning green.

He fumbled for her wrist, and checked her pulse. Her heartbeat was so feeble that he was shocked that she was still alive.

"Help..." he murmured. "HELP!"

But she was beyond help. Keaton didn't need to be a son of Apollo to be sure of that.

His chest constricted as he looked, for what seemed like the last time, at the limp figure of Leila Brooke.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Leila saw a blurry view of the forces of Kronos dropping their weapons and running for their lives. She lifted her head weakly, and grinned at sight of the giants trampling the _dracaenae, _trying to get into the Labyrinth first. Telekhines and hellhounds and enemy half-bloods scrambled after them. The tunnel rumbled shut, and the battle was over. The clearing was quiet except for fires burning in the woods, and the cries of the wounded.

She tried to get up, but a spike of hot pain surged through her side. She winced and clutched her side, and stared uncomprehendingly at her blood covered hand.

"Shoot." Leila mumbled. She vaguely heard someone calling her name, far away, but there was a strange buzzing in her ears. Her limbs turned to stone, and the world turned red.

She was dying.

The poison coursed through her veins, making its way to her heart, and she knew that even the power of the ocean couldn't save her now.

A boy tripped over her leg, jolting it to the side, but she barely felt it.

She almost laughed at the sight of the boy's bewildered expression, with his mouth full of dirt.

His face loomed over her, and she saw that boy had a nasty bruise swelling on his forehead, and a nose that looked like it had been broken. He shook her shoulders slightly, and took her hand.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked in a concerned voice. "Can you hear me?"

She wanted to say, "Of course I can hear you. But I wish I couldn't." She wanted to say, "Don't even try. It's too late."

But the poison made her head feel woozy, and all she could notice was how striking the boy's eyes looked against his tan skin. He looked so familiar…but she felt her memories slipping away.

A recollection surfaced for a moment.

"San Francisco." she muttered. "You were there…at San Francisco. Who are you?"

"What?"

Leila shut her eyes and tried to remember…but she gave up.

"Don't...don't try to save me." she said softly, praying that the boy could hear her.

She wasn't worth it.

Leila caught a last glimpse of the boy's eyes - an interesting shade of gray - before allowing her eyes to slide shut.

_I'm sorry, Percy._

* * *

**Percy's POV**

"Percy!" Tyson bellowed. "It is Nico! He is sick!"

Percy ran towards Nico and leaned over him, rolling him over as gently as he could. He put his hand against his chest. Nico's heart was beating faintly. "Get some nectar!" Percy yelled.

One of the Ares campers hobbled over and handed him a canteen. Percy trickled some of the magic drink into Nico's mouth. He coughed and spluttered, but his eyelids fluttered open.

"Nico, what happened?" Percy asked. "Can you talk?"

"Dying." he said, his eyes wide with fear.

"No, you're not dying. You're going to be fine." Percy said.

"She's dying. Percy, you have to help her." Nico said, gripping his hand tightly.

"Wait, who's dying?" Annabeth asked. "What are you talking about?"

Nico looked at her sadly, and said, "Leila Brooke is dying. And she only has a few minutes left."


	33. DOA Recording Studios

**Leila's POV**

Leila's whole body jerked forward and her eyes flew open. She gasped for air, and massaged her chest. It felt like she had been run over by a truck. Twice.

She breathed heavily for a few moments, gazing at her surroundings.

Leila had no idea where she was.

There was a huge, unfamiliar building in front of her with a big sign that she couldn't read.

And it was raining. Pouring.

And she couldn't feel it. It just fell through her body, like she was transparent.

She _was _transparent.

Leila scrambled to her feet and stared at her translucent hands and arms. She pressed her fingers against the building, just to see if her hand would pass through. She was surprised to see that it didn't. Leila could feel the texture of the walls just like she had when she wasn't…well, transparent.

"Freaky." she muttered.

She squinted her eyes through the rain and barely managed the read the sign. "DOA Recording Studios: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING."

She looked around.

How did she get here? Where was she before?

She - she had been in a forest. A camp. Camp Half Blood. And she had been bitten by a pretty nasty monster.

Oh gods, that meant she was -

"Dead." Leila said aloud, her heart sinking. "I'm dead."

The building did not respond.

Leila stared at the huge doors and tried to peek through the windows, but her vision turned blurry whenever she tried. She had an irrational urge to open the door, to see what was inside. Her ghostly fingers were just closing around the door handle when -

"Watch out there, mate!" someone bellowed, yanking Leila back. "You don't want to be going in there!"

Leila jumped.

A man who hadn't been there before stood in front of the door, a tall, handsome African American in an expensive looking suit. He tossed an iPhone from his left hand to his right.

He looked at Leila in amusement, and then turned on his phone, tapping the screen.

After a few minutes of watching the man win the 10,000th level of Angry Birds, Leila managed to summon enough courage to say, "Uh...hi."

"Hi." the man said, still glued to his phone, a faint smile hovering around his lips.

"Did I say something funny?"

"No! Demigods amuse me, that's all. Especially _your _type of demigod. Don't take it personally."

Leila did take it personally, but she didn't say anything, choosing only to stare at the guy.

"Where am I?" she asked in a neutral tone.

The man smiled mysteriously. "You don't know yet, do you? I haven't been outside for a while. Always manning the desk, always looking after the ghosts. But _you_, Leila Brooke..." - he paused to raise his eyebrows at her and chuckle a little - "...are a special case. A daughter of Poseidon, eh? Haven't had to deal with one of you brats in five centuries."

"Five centuries." Leila repeated dully.

"Oh, yes." the man said happily. "It makes my job _so _much easier. Do you have any idea how hard it was to deal with Eleanor of Aquitaine?"

"Uh..."

"And don't get me started on Joan of Arc! That girl took _forever _to die, and it was quite irritating. Or Cleopatra. Now she was a challenging case, I'll tell you -"

"Okay, okay, I get it! Daughters of Poseidon are annoying! I get it!" Leila said, curling her hands into fists.

The man's eyes softened. "I never said they were _annoying_. I just said they were challenging. Makes my job a little less tedious when one of you dies every 50 years or so."

Leila clenched her jaw. "So you're telling me that I'm dead."

The man tapped his phone screen. "No, not necessarily. Always tricky with healers."

"_Healers?_"

"Don't tell me that the old centaur hasn't told you yet."

"I met him for about five seconds."

"Doesn't matter!" the man huffed irritably. "The point is, I don't know what to do with you."

"Me neither." Leila admitted.

The man laughed, a little sadly. "Demigods always have it rough, but daughters of Poseidon get the worst end of the stick. They're very dangerous, but they're most compassionate people you'll ever meet. And the loneliest."

"That doesn't sound like me."

"It will someday." the guy promised. Suddenly, his iPhone started to ring, and the man had the phone to his ear in a second.

Leila leaned in to hear what the guy was saying, but she didn't get much out of it.

"Mmm." the man muttered. "Uh huh. Yes. Yes, of course, sir. Yes."

The man hung up without saying goodbye, and he said crossly, "Your father is a _very _temperamental god. First he says, 'Oh, let her die! I don't want her to struggle anymore!' and then he says, 'Wait a moment, I changed my mind. I like her! Let her live!'"

"My dad said to _let me die_?" Leila yelled.

"Yes, and I don't blame him. Not even a little bit. Poseidon is a jerk, but he cares about what his children go through."

"Sure." she said sarcastically, sticking her hands in her transparent sweatshirt pockets.

To her amazement, the guy reached out and ruffled her hair affectionately. "He actually cares more about you than you think. You've got guts, Leila Brooke, anyone can see that. You have a tough journey ahead of you, and you're not afraid to face it."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've seen enough of your kind. I've met dozens of daughters of Poseidon, and I've noticed one thing."

"What?" she said sullenly.

He leaned in and said, "You don't underestimate yourself. But you don't overestimate yourself either, which is a rare trait that most demigods don't have. I like that. "

Leila narrowed her eyes. "Can you see in the future or something?"

"Well," the man drawled. "To an extent, I suppose. If you're going to ask me when Kronos is going to leave you alone, I can't tell you the answer. It's such a major event that I can't foresee it."

"Then what _can _you tell me?" she asked desperately.

The man sighed, and adjusted his expensive suit. "Fine. Something I can tell you is that you're going to live in the shadow of Percy Jackson for the rest of your life. No matter what you do, no matter what you achieve, you will never get the recognition that he will get."

Leila thought for a while. She finally said, "I don't mind."

"I know."

"Then why did you tell me?"

"Because you deserve to be told."

His iPhone rang again, more insistently, and he sighed. "Well, that's my cue. You'd better be going now."

Leila still had a million questions, and she started to ask, "How –"

"Keep your hands to your sides at all times." the man said breezily, interrupting her. "And all loose hair should be tied back, you don't want it getting caught on anything. Thank you for choosing DOA Deathways." He tapped Leila's forehead, and her feet left the ground. She began to float in the air, rising higher and higher.

"Goodbye, Leila!" the man yelled. "And good luck!"

"But I don't even know your name!" she shouted back.

"Charon! CARE-ON! Not Chiron! Don't you dare confuse me with that..." his lips continued to move rapidly, but Leila couldn't hear him anymore. She heard faint voices, high above her head, and she saw faces, faces of the friends she loved.

Leila's memories came surging back and she reached her hand forward, desperate to reach them. Nico di Angelo stretched his pale white hands forward and grabbed her own, pulling her back into the world of the living.

* * *

*****Author's Note: I'm not updating for a very long time, which is why I posted this longer chapter today. Did you like this chapter? Hate it? Remember to review!**


	34. Author's Note - Which POV?

**Hey guys,**

**I'm sorry that this isn't a chapter, but I have a question to ask you: Do you want the next chapter to be in Leila, Percy, Keaton, or Nico's POV?**

**Please, PLEASE let me know through a PM or a review. I would really appreciate it so I can update as quickly as possible. **


	35. Broken Oath

*****I am such a bad person. Guys, I am so sorry that I haven't updated recently. Finals are coming up at the end of May, and I've been working like _crazy _to get my grades up. I honestly don't know when I'm going to update next, it might be tomorrow or it might be next month. I know that's frustrating for you to hear, but I can't give a certain date with finals this close.  
**

**ANYWAY, I decided to put both Percy and Nico's POV in this chapter, since so many of you voted! Agh! I love you guys! Thanks so much for voting, it means a lot!**

* * *

**Percy's POV**

Leila Brooke was dead.

And it was all Percy's fault.

If he had just moved a little faster, if he had insisted that Leila should stay out of the fight, if he had been _less impulsive_, she wouldn't be lying lifeless on a hard bed in the infirmary.

Percy's hands tightened on the cool white sheets, and he choked back a sob as he pulled the cloth over the daughter of Poseidon's face.

He could hear running footsteps approaching him, but he was too miserable to care.

"What are you _doing_?" Nico di Angelo yelled, yanking back the white sheet.

"What do you think I'm doing!" Percy said sharply. "I'm covering my dead sister!"

Nico stared at him. "Leila's not dead."

"W-what?" Percy said, his heart stopping.

He shifted uncomfortably. "There's no time to explain. Do you happen to have a bucket of water?"

* * *

Nico had been kneeling by Leila's bedside for the past thirty minutes, holding Leila's hand and muttering some words under his breath.

"Well?" Percy said impatiently.

Nico looked at him, irritated, and snapped, "I'm trying the best I can."

"Well, you're not trying hard enough!"

"Of course I -"

"Guys, shut up!" Annabeth yelled, effectively quieting the room. She added calmly, "Nico, have you figured out _anything_?"

Nico sighed, and looked at Leila in frustration. "She's a daughter of Poseidon. Do you have _any _idea how hard it is to figure out whether they're dead or not?"

Percy furrowed his eyebrows. "You mean, sons and daughters are different? How -"

Thunder rumbled outside, and Nico paled. "I'm forbidden from saying anything else. But what I can say is that she's not..._dead_. It appears like she is, but her spirit's on the edge. I can pull her back, but -"

"But what?" Percy said.

"It's very, very dangerous. If anything goes wrong, she'll be gone forever." Nico looked at him carefully. "Percy, do you want me to do it?"

He gripped Riptide tightly. "Anything. Anything to bring her back."

Nico bit his lip. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

**Nico's POV**

Nico pressed his thumb against Leila's throat and two fingers against her forehead. As he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his vision switched from the mortal world to the Underworld.

He suddenly had a bird's eye view of Los Angeles, and his eyes followed the confusing maze of streets outlining the city.

That didn't make sense. This wasn't the Underworld. So that meant...

"Oh gods." Nico muttered. "She's at DOA Studios."

He pictured the front of DOA Recording Studios and held the image in his mind. He jerked his head to the left, and his view of the city turned into a blur, eventually settling on the top of a dull gray building. He squinted his eyes, and he could barely make out two ghostly figures conversing near the entrance.

Nico could sense an immortal soul and a powerful demigod soul down there, and he tried to zoom downwards, but a force field prevented him from doing so.

He banged his fists against it in frustration, but it refused to budge.

Nico heard an awfully familiar man's voice rumble, "No. He has not made his choice yet."

"Father?"

Hades sighed and materialized in front of Nico, on the other side of the force field. The lord of the dead was floating 7 stories off the ground, looking up at his son.

Hades' nose wrinkled in distaste as his eyes ran over Nico's disheveled appearance. Nico half-heartedly brushed his hair out of his eyes, but his father said, "Do you even _try _to make yourself look presentable? Bah! And you call yourself my son!"

Nico's heart sank. He was used to Hades insulting him, but it still hurt. He decided to change the subject. "What are you doing here?"

Hades ignored his question and chose to scowl instead. "Wretched daughters of Poseidon. Always causing trouble. The girl's _father_ is still wondering whether he should save the brat with the power of the ocean or to let her die."

"What? Leila's a hero! She switched sides!"

"She hosts the spirit of Kronos, foolish boy." Hades grumbled. "It would be infinitely easier to let her die. I told Poseidon that I would ensure the girl's entrance into Elysium, but _noooo_."

"You can't just - he can't just -"

"Listen closely with that dense head of yours." the god interrupted. "All that you know is that the girl's powers with the ocean extend far beyond Jackson's ever could. But what you _don't _know is that half a century ago, Poseidon _swore _that he would not sire any more daughters. You have _no _idea what they are capable of, and they caused too much trouble in my realm. And do you know what that blasted sea god did five hundred years later?"

"Poseidon broke the oath." Nico said, his eyes widening. "Does Zeus know?"

"Does Zeus look like he knows, boy? If he knew...well, only the Fates know what would happen." Hades said darkly.

"So what should I do?" Nico said, puzzled.

Hades pinched the bridge of his nose. "If Poseidon chooses to let the girl live, the girl's spirit cannot come back to the mortal world's without the assistance of one of my children or myself. _I _will certainly not bring her back, so _you _must. Don't mess this up."

"You're letting her _live_?"

"Do you _want_ her to die?" Hades responded sharply. "Even Poseidon knows that if she dies, the piece of Kronos inside her will be roaming the Underworld forever. Now, if you don't bring her back properly, boy, I will _make sure_ that you will be force fed cereal by Demeter for the rest of eternity!"

And with that happy note, the god of death disappeared.

* * *

Nico impatiently watched Leila finish her conversation with whichever immortal she was talking to, and she started to float, higher and higher in the air. Nico wasn't sure what she saw, but her expression relaxed into a smile. She stretched her hands forward, and Nico grasped her wrists, hauling her through to the world of the living.

Nico's vision went black for a few moments, and then he could see the infirmary again, with Percy and Annabeth standing anxiously over him. He was still in exactly the same position, kneeling over Leila's body.

"Whoa, is that _me_?"

Nico whipped around and saw _another _Leila close behind him, still holding his hand.

His mouth fell open, and he looked from the solid Leila on the bed to the ghostly Leila.

Oh gods,that meant that Leila's spirit hadn't entered her solid body. So she was still technically dead.

Nico smacked his forehead. "_Di immortales!_" he yelled.

"What? What happened?" Ghost Leila said anxiously. "Can't you get me back in my body?"

Percy shook Nico's shoulder, unable to see ghost Leila.

"Did it work? Is she alive?" he asked. "And who are you talking to?"

Nico chuckled dryly. "Well. This is going to be fun."

* * *

**Did I write Nico's POV well? Horribly? Was he out of character? Do you want his POV more in the future? Let me know by reviewing!**


	36. That Annoying Voice

**Percy's POV**

Percy was confused.

He said stupidly, "So there are two Leilas in this room."

"Yeah." Nico confirmed.

"One is dead and the other is alive."

"Yup."

"And I _can't see _the one who's alive?"

"Pretty much." Nico agreed. "I'm the only one who can see her. She's...I don't know. A ghost or something right now."

His fingers tightened around what Percy assumed was Leila's hand.

"Uh...hi ghost Leila." Percy said hesitantly.

Nico cocked his head and listened for a few moments. Then he smirked. "She said to shut up."

* * *

**Nico's POV**

Annabeth rolled her eyes and said impatiently, "Well, is there any way she can get back? Or at least be able to see her?"

"Or at least hear me." Leila muttered beside him.

"Hold still." Nico instructed. He placed his fingers against her forehead and imagined Leila in her solid form - with her brownish black hair, long legs, sparkling green eyes...

Leila's ghost form flickered for a few moments, and disappeared entirely before appearing again. Her hair began to darken, and as she blinked, her eyes changed from transparent gray to light green. But if you squinted hard enough, you could still see through her body.

"Whoa!" Percy yelled.

Annabeth merely looked impressed.

Percy tried to barrel his sister over with a hug, but he ran straight through her and into the curtain.

"Uh...Nico?" Leila said uncertainly.

"Yeah?"

"You can let go of my hand now."

"Right."

But as Nico's fingers uncurled from hers, her form began to flicker like an on/off switch.

Leila's eyes widened, and she grabbed Nico's arm. Her body solidified again.

Nico mentally face palmed. "I forgot. I'm kind of your link to the mortal world now. If you lose physical contact with me, you're going to go back to the Underworld."

"Oh." she said in a small voice.

Percy managed to untangle himself from the curtain, and he cautiously tried to touch Leila again. His hand went through her stomach.

"Stop that!" Leila snapped.

"Well, you can't feel anything, right?" Percy said mischievously.

"Jackson, I swear, when I get my body back again, I'm going to -"

"Yes, yes, you can kill each other later." Annabeth agreed. "But we've got a bigger problem. Nico, can you do anything to get her back?"

He shook his head, mystified. "I have no idea. This has never happened before. This isn't _supposed _to happen."

"Maybe if I touch my physical body again, something will happen." Leila said, furrowing her eyebrows.

Subconsciously, everyone looked back to dead Leila on the bed.

"Okay, that's _creepy_." Percy said.

"Easy for you to say." Leila frowned. She stepped closer to the bed, dragging Nico along with her, and looked at her dead body with fascination.

She stretched her hand forward and cautiously touched her solid form. She gasped, and her entire arm went through, like someone was tugging her from inside the body.

Ghost Leila's hand was yanked from Nico's grip, and she turned into a wisp of blue steam, melting into her physical body.

* * *

**Percy's POV**

Percy watched in fascination as Leila gasped and sat straight up in the bed. Her head rolled forward limply, and then jolted straight up again.

"Is she alright?" Annabeth asked in concern.

"Yeah." Nico said, but he sounded tentative. "The spirit's taking hold of the body."

If that didn't sound weird, Percy didn't know what did.

Leila blinked a few times, and looked at her surroundings. When her gaze fell on Percy, she asked cheerfully, "Who are you?"

Percy's heart dropped. If Leila had lost her memories… "I'm uh, Percy Jackson. Your…brother?"

Leila laughed. "I don't have a brother."

Something didn't seem right about Leila. Her eyes were glazed, and she smiled too much, which wasn't right.

Annabeth stepped forward in concern. "Leila, you don't remember anything?"

"My name is Leila?" Leila said. "Horrible name, really. Can I change it?"

Annabeth glared at her. "Okay. You can stop acting now."

"She's not acting." Nico said, frowning at her. "It will take a few minutes or so for the memories to come back."

Leila began to giggle loudly, and he added uncomfortably, "And her personality."

"But you just said you didn't know anything about all of this." Percy accused him. He still didn't trust the guy.

Nico held up his hands. "I don't know about ghosts returning to bodies, but I know a couple of things about memories."

Leila hopped off the bed, and immediately collapsed. Percy made a move to help her, but she brushed him off. "Oh, don't worry. I'm such a klutz, you know."

"This is _so _bizarre." Nico said, staring at Leila.

"The memory thing, or the personality thing?" Annabeth said.

"Not just that." he said. "I just thought – that maybe Kronos would show us a sign, you know? That he still has control."

"Maybe Kronos has lost control." Percy said hopefully.

Annabeth shook her head. "I doubt it."

Leila looked at Annabeth. "You have _really _nice hair. Like, not blonde hair, but golden hair. But you really shouldn't keep it in a ponytail."

"What?" Annabeth said.

Leila smiled cheerfully and skipped to Percy.

"You're not bad looking. But your hair has a grey streak it in. Why?"

"Uh…because…I held up the sky?"

Leila giggled, "Oh no, silly. People can't _hold up the sky_. Did you dye it? That's not a good fashion choice."

"Who are you and what have you done with Leila?" Nico demanded.

She stomped her foot and tossed her hair. "Leila isn't here right now. Please leave a message after the beep."

"Leila has officially gone crazy." Annabeth said.

"She's _not _crazy." Nico insisted. "Just wait. She's going to return to normal in five…four…"

"Stop counting!" Leila screamed. "Why are you counting?"

She stuck her fingers in her ears and began to sing "Eye of the Tiger" loudly.

"Three…two…" Nico continued.

Leila's head jerked up, and her eyes glowed golden. Her tattoos glowed for a few moments with a gruesome blood-red light.

"Whoa." She muttered in her normal voice, holding her temples. "What was _that_?"

Percy sighed in relief. "So you're back to normal, Leila?"

Leila's eyes dilated, and her face twitched. Percy could have sworn that her eye color changed from green to light gold. Her voice changed to the high, annoying one that she had before, and she said, "I told you I didn't like that name!"

"Something's changed." Nico said nervously. "Your soul has been infiltrated by Kronos. He's in control now."

"The only thing that needs to be changed is your hair, sweetie." Leila said in a fake sugary tone. "And were you talking about Kronos just now? He _really _doesn't like you."

Percy and Annabeth exchanged looks.'

Leila strolled around the room and smiled. "Perseus Jackson. Oh, he's the only one Luke's afraid of, you know. _Luke Castellan_. But Kronos and Luke…they're the same person right?"

Annabeth's breath hitched, and she choked. "They are _not_. Now get out of Leila's body!"

Leila smirked. "Oh, I forgot. You have a _terrible _crush on Luke, don't you, Chase?"

Annabeth began to lunge, but Percy held her back. "Annabeth, she's just messing with you. She _wants _you to attack."

Leila/Kronos pretended to be offended, and said, "I would never do that! Percy wouldn't like that very much if you attacked his lovely sister, would you?"

"You aren't my sister." Percy growled. "You're…you're…Kronos. Just get away from here!"

Leila/Kronos shook her head. "Oh, no, Percy Jackson. I _do _like this body. So fit…so powerful. Even more powerful than you. And Leila isn't here right now. I'm in control. She has _such _an interesting mind."

Nico's eyes widened and he scrambled backwards.

"What in Zeus' name is going on?" Percy roared.

Nico ignored him and yelled at Kronos, "You aren't going to take over just yet. Leila's going to fight you. Just like she always does!"

"I still have plenty of time to destroy the camp. And plenty of time to kill you." Kronos sneered.

Leila/Kronos ripped off the infirmary curtain and scanned the room hungrily. She picked up a sword and pointed her weapon at Percy's heart.

Percy's fingers wrapped around Riptide. He was about to uncap it until Leila dropped her sword on the floor with a _clang _sound.

Leila pinched the bridge of her nose, and her face and eyes turned back to normal. "Was I just trying to kill you? Please tell me I wasn't trying to kill you."

Fast as light, Annabeth drew her dagger and held it at Leila's throat.

"Annabeth!" Percy protested.

"We have to make sure that she's actually Leila!" Annabeth yelled.

"She _is_, Annabeth. I can tell!" Nico said.

Annabeth ignored him and scowled at Leila, muttering, "Tell me something only Leila knows."

Leila wrinkled her nose, and thought for a minute. "Uh…Nico wears too much black?"

"Hey!"

"Good enough." Annabeth said, sheathing her dagger. "Though everyone knows that."

Leila covered her face with her hands. "It was Kronos, wasn't it? It was Kronos again. Why doesn't he just _leave me alone_?" she yelled in frustration.

"We're going to figure this out, Leila." Percy said, though he had no idea how.

"Right." she grumbled. "Now we have a bigger problem on our hands."

"What now?" Annabeth scowled.

Leila folded her arms and asked quietly, "What are you going to do with me?"

* * *

******Which POV do you want next? HERE ARE THE OPTIONS: Percy, Nico, Chiron, Keaton, Leila.**

**I didn't put Annabeth as the option because I personally think I'd suck at writing from her viewpoint. **

**Unless...you want me to give it a shot? Let me know by reviewing!**

**Gosh, I haven't updated in a really long time. BUT FINALS! UGHHHHH...**

**I can't give you the exact date for the next update, but here's an idea of when I will write:**

**May 20-24: These are what my school calls, "Dead Days". This week is devoted to studying. There's a reasonable chance that I will update in that week.**

**May 27-31: FINALS! FINALS! FINALS! So stressful! There is NO chance that I will update in this week! **

**June: I'll update regularly on either a daily or weekly basis!**

**It's pretty conceited of me to actually _post a schedule of my life, _but I don't want you guys to be waiting for an update during finals week or anything, and then be disappointed that it isn't posted.**

**THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME, GUYS! *WRAPS YOU ALL IN FLUFFY BLANKETS AND FEEDS YOU COOKIES***


	37. Stop Hoping

**Annabeth's POV **

As Leila's eyes burned into hers, Annabeth had the uneasy feeling that she could read her thoughts. Everything about Leila Brooke screamed "_Danger!_" Everything from her expression to her body language to her background.

How could Percy not see that?

A million possibilities raced through her mind.

Keep her at the camp? No. Too dangerous.

Let her into the mortal world? Impossible.

Kill her? The best solution, but also not possible.

"I say we figure this out tomorrow." Percy piped up. "I'm _starving_."

Annabeth sighed heavily. Leave it to Seaweed Brain to put off the major issues.

Leila kicked the sword on the ground away from her, and it went skidding across the room.

"I'm going to go see Chiron." she muttered before storming out.

Nico shifted his feet awkwardly and said quickly, "I'm going to check what's going on. You know, who's alive and who's not."

Percy looked at Annabeth, evaluating her mood, before leaving as well.

"Leaving all the work to me, aren't you?" she said to herself. Annabeth pulled her Yankees cap out of her pocket and shoved it on her head.

She ran outside and scanned the perimeter before catching sight of Leila Brooke, sneaking behind the cabins to the Big House.

Annabeth adjusted her cap before sprinting after Leila, determined to see what she was up to.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Leila pushed open the door of the Big House and cautiously stepped inside.

Chiron was seated near the window, with his horse legs in a painful position. As a son of Apollo put the last of the bandages on him, Chiron caught a glance of Leila.

His eyes widened, and he said hurriedly, "That will do, Will. There are others in need."

"Call me if you need any more help, Chiron." Will said tiredly, before turning to leave.

He caught sight of Leila, and his bright blue eyes narrowed. He strode up to her and got in her face, saying loudly, "Brooke, if you lay _one finger _on Chiron, I swear -"

"Spare me the lecture. Do you really think I'd do something as stupid as that?" Leila said sharply.

"I saw you earlier. I saw...how you changed. Daughter of Poseidon or not, you don't belong here." Will spun on his heel angrily and slammed the door behind him.

Chiron exhaled and began, "Mr. Solace is just worried for the camp, as we are all. Don't -"

"Chiron." Leila interrupted. "I know exactly how dangerous I am. I don't blame Will at all. I wanted to ask you something."

The centaur said nothing, and looked at her warily with his ancient eyes.

Leila leaned forward and said, "Why are daughter of Poseidon so dangerous? Why hasn't one been born for the past 500 years?"

"Who told you that?"

"Charon."

"How -"

"I died, then came back. Long story."

Chiron closed his eyes for a long time, and murmured, "Charon always had a soft spot for the daughters. I never understood why. And that is part of the reason why you are so very risky to have around. What happened to you earlier - you dying, then coming back - that is against the Ancient Laws. Ocean water has a peculiar effect on you and your kind."

Leila raised an eyebrow. "My _kind_?"

Chiron spread his hands. "Daughters of Poseidon are unlike any other demigods. Which is why they were forbidden by Zeus. They were causing too much trouble in the mortal world and Underworld. Cleopatra, for example -"

"Hang on, _forbidden by Zeus_? So I wasn't even supposed to be born?"

"No." Chiron said firmly. "You have powers which extend far beyond anything you could have dreamed."

"He called me a healer. Is that one of them?"

"Oh, yes. Healers have the ability to treat injuries using water. I've trained many a healer before the oath was taken. Joan of Arc was a very talented one. I could train you as well." Chiron said neutrally.

"I don't want to give Kronos more power than he already has." Leila said carefully.

The centaur nodded approvingly. "Very wise of you. Now tell me. How exactly did you come by our camp?"

Behind Chiron's mask of calm, Leila could see curiosity burning in his eyes. She felt that Chiron was someone that she could trust.

Leila took a deep breath, and started, "Well, it all began at MLK Middle School. When the school gym was attacked by Leroy the Cyclops..."

* * *

**Annabeth's POV**

After a long conversation, Leila got up and nodded at Chiron. "Thank you. For understanding."

Chiron frowned. "Don't get into too much trouble, Ms. Brooke. It will take a while for the campers to trust you."

She pursed her lips. "I'll try not to do anything major."

Just as she was about to leave, she turned around. "One last thing, Chiron. Cleopatra was queen of Egypt."

Chiron raised his eyebrows. "Yes?"

"I thought Greeks didn't like Egyptians. How could she have been a demigod?"

Chiron smiled mysteriously. "Who said that Cleopatra knew that she was a demigod? Perhaps she believed in something different."

Leila shook her head in confusion and opened the door. Annabeth barely managed to squeeze through before the door swung shut.

Leila paused for a few moments on the porch, gazing at the view of the strawberry fields.

Annabeth, of course, was dying to know what she was thinking.

"They're not ready." Leila muttered. "Far too weak for the invasion force."

She leaned her elbows on the railing, and took a deep breath.

"You said I would be lonely and compassionate, Charon." she mused to herself. "I can see the lonely now, but not the compassionate."

_What is she talking about? _Annabeth wondered what the exchange between Charon and Leila would have sounded like.

Leila turned and looked directly at her, a smile curving her lips . "After all, why should I strain myself on demigods who won't accept me? Especially _Annabeth Chase_."

Annabeth stumbled backwards. It was impossible for Leila to be able to see her. She was _invisible,_ for gods' sakes.

"She should trust me more. I'm on her side, after all." Leila continued mercilessly, her eyes twinkling.

"Okay, okay." Annabeth said, taking off her cap. "How could you see me?"

"Aftereffects of being a ghost. It'll wear off eventually." she said, tracing her fingers on the wood of the railing.

Annabeth made a mental note to never underestimate Leila again. She was a lot more intelligent than she looked.

"You still have my knife, by the way." she said suddenly. "I love to have it back."

Annabeth felt around, and her fingers brushed against the hilt in her pocket. She tossed it from her left hand to her right, enjoying the look of irritation on Leila's face.

"It says Camp Half-Blood on it." Annabeth stated. "Does Kronos' army steal weapons from us?"

"The army doesn't need to." Leila scoffed, snatching the knife from her. "My mother gave me this knife for my birthday. Just like your mother gave you that cap."

"How did you know that?" Annabeth said, her fingers tightening around the cloth.

Leila paled, and mumbled, "Forget I said anything."

"Tell me!" Annabeth urged.

"No, seriously. Forget it." Leila brushed past her and shoved her hands in her pockets. "You'd be disgusted if you found out."

After a couple of steps, Leila stopped abruptly. She turned around, and said darkly, "Luke had tabs of all magical items at Camp Half-Blood. I memorized them because I had to. That's how I know about your cap."

Annabeth was, for once, at a loss for words.

Leila tilted her head to the side and added, "You have no idea."

"No idea about what?"

"About how evil Luke is. His change is permanent, Annabeth. Stop hoping."

As Annabeth watched Leila's retreating figure, she blinked the tears out of her eyes.

_Stop thinking about him_. She commanded herself. _We have bigger problems at hand. _

Leila had information about Kronos' army. And by the gods, Annabeth was going to find it out.

* * *

*****A/N: How did I do Annabeth's POV? And which POV do you want next? Let me know by reviewing! **


	38. A Weird Conversation

**Leila's POV**

Leila strolled around camp, amused at the terrified expressions of the demigods.

She managed to freak out a son of Ares by happening to glance in his direction, which she considered to be her biggest highlight of the day.

But...then came the burning of the shrouds.

Leila saw Percy's grief stricken face in the crowd, and she knew that it wasn't the right time to go and talk to him.

Nor was it the right time to show herself in front of everybody.

Unsure of where to go, she drifted into the woods and traced her fingers along the bark of the trees, as she plunged deeper and deeper into the forest.

Darkness didn't scare her now. Nothing really did - not after everything that had happened.

Leila leaned against the trunk of a pine and sighed quietly.

"It's hard to be an outsider, isn't it?" said a familiar voice.

"Hey, Nico." Leila said moodily.

"Join you?" he asked.

Leila shrugged. "I guess."

Nico looked at her carefully. "They don't blame you for what happened."

"Who?"

"Lee Fletcher. Castor. Everyone who died in the battle. They didn't think that you could've stopped the invasion from happening."

"How do you know?" Leila accused.

"I talked to their ghosts."

She raised her eyebrows. "That's really creepy."

Nico smiled slightly. "Just wanted to let you know."

They sat on the forest floor for a while in silence, content in each other's company, when Nico suddenly said, "Can you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Leila said drowsily.

"The air's changing. Someone's coming." he said nervously.

"Who?" Leila said, fingering her knife.

Nico scowled. "Gods, I_ hate_ it when he comes. Run!"

"After you tell me who's coming!"

"I can't!"

"Tell me!"

Nico froze, and he began to dissolve into the shadows. "He wants to deliver a message. Don't trust him, Leila!"

Leila grabbed Nico's hand, but he disappeared, and she was left with a handful of air.

The shadows began to gather closer together, forming the figure of a tall boy next to her.

"Nico?" Leila said.

The shadows parted, revealing someone who was certainly _not_ the son of Hades.

It was a scowling teenager - maybe 16 years old. He was really good looking, with warm brown eyes, pale skin, and messy black hair. He was wearing a leather jacket, black jeans, and a gold chain, sort of the way Nico dressed.

"You're not Nico." Leila said stupidly. Her hand slipped into her pocket.

"Not Nico." the guy confirmed. "And don't even bother taking out a weapon. I could disarm you within seconds."

"I doubt it." she countered, trying to look confident. But as she said it, she thought, _This guy's dangerous_. Her skin began to itch in his presence.

"You Greeks have very strange burial rites." the guy said airily. "That's the only reason why I'm able to appear here, I suppose - because of the funerals which are happening as we speak."

"Uh..."

The guy glowered at her some more, and said, as if he could read her mind, "Don't think for a second that you're not dangerous, Brooke. You are, arguably, more risky to have around than I am, and that's saying something."

"How do you know my name?" she asked, starting to feel a little bit alarmed.

The guy's nose wrinkled. "I don't usually talk to _Greeks_. Different gods, different forms, you know? But what you have done recently..."

"Hang on, different gods? Who are you, exactly?"

The guy winced. "Names have power. But I suppose you can call me...Anubis."

Leila furrowed her eyebrows. "You're Egyptian. And you kind of look like...I mean...do you control death?"

"Funerals." Anubis corrected. "You're smarter than you look, Leila Brooke."

"What's an Egyptian doing in Greek territory?" Leila said, a dangerous tone creeping into her voice. She immediately shifted into a fighting stance.

Anubis raised his arms in surrender. "I've never come to visit demigods before. It's strictly against the Ancient Laws. But I need to talk to you...about how you came back from the dead."

"Why? Some of the Olympians already know, so why should -"

"I come with a message from Osiris, my master." Anubis interrupted her. "He says...he says that if you try anything funny again, if you try to cheat death the way you did recently, your fate lies with the House of Life."

"My death has nothing to do with your silly House of Life!" Leila said sharply. She had no idea where the resentment was coming from - the tension in the air between them was tangible.

Anubis' eyes flashed in anger. "Don't underestimate the House of Life. And we would have left you alone, but you're a daughter of Poseidon. Things are different with you."

Leila pinched the bridge of her nose. "People keep saying that to me. Why am I treated so differently?"

Anubis' mouth twisted into a frown. "The whole mess started with Cleopatra. She was a daughter of Poseidon, but she was also hosting an Egyptian goddess, which made things_ very_ complicated..."

"Hosting an Egyptian goddess?"

"It's a long story." Anubis waved off her question. "The point is that every single daughter of Poseidon who has ever lived has complicated the process of death due to their special abilities with water, which raises issues with both your god of death and ours."

"There aren't any Egyptian gods." Leila said stubbornly. "It's not possible."

Anubis' hand began to glow. "Would you like to test that?" he asked quietly.

"There just can't be both Greek gods and Egyptian gods controlling the same planet!" Leila said, waving her hands. "How is it possible that Hades and Osiris are gods of death at the same time?"

Anubis' shoulders slumped and his hand stopped glowing. "I can't explain everything. My time is up with you. My very presence here is causing chaos. I'll leave you - for now. The Kanes need me."

The name faintly stirred one of her memories. "I've heard that before - Kane. Where have I heard that?"

Anubis scoffed. "I doubt that you have. Magicians and demigods barely make any contact -"

"Carter Kane!" Leila blurted out, which she probably shouldn't have done. Blame her ADHD.

Anubis' eyes darkened. "I don't know how you know Carter. But I swear, that if you harm one hair on his or his sister's head, you'll have to answer to me. Got it?"

"Why the Hades would I be stupid enough to fight a bunch of Egyptians?" Leila demanded. "And I met him for around two seconds. He doesn't even know my name."

Anubis exhaled in relief. "Thank Ra for that. We're in enough trouble as it is." He added, "One last thing, daughter of Poseidon."

"Only one?" Leila said innocently.

"There will come a time in which the Greeks will need the Egyptians." Anubis continued, ignoring her. "And it will happen within your lifetime. When that time comes, remember our meeting. And remember to trust the Kanes."

Leila didn't know how to respond.

Anubis allowed himself a small smile. "Nico di Angelo doesn't like me. I could have vaporized him, but he's my link from the Egyptian world to the Greek world. Don't worry, though - I won't bother you anymore. Unless you pull your little stunt again."

"Jeez, I get it!" Leila yelled. "Can you go away now?"

Anubis closed his eyes, and for a moment, Leila could have sworn he turned into a wolf - a jackal, maybe. As he melted into the darkness, Nico emerged out of the same spot, coughing and choking.

"Are you okay?" Leila said, concerned.

"I -_ hate_ - him!" Nico said, between his coughs. "So - annoying..."

"Definitely." she agreed. "Do you mind explaining this Egyptian thing to me, though?"

Nico's expression darkened. "Forget it."

"What?"

"I'm serious. Forget you ever had this conversation. Don't. Tell. _Anyone._" he said, frowning at her.

"I wasn't going to." she said, frowning back. "But was what he said true?"

"About the Greeks and Egyptians needing each other? I have no idea. He's notorious for lying." Nico said angrily.

"You're making that up!" Leila chuckled. "And I think someone's _jealous_."

"What!? I am not jealous of that no-good, annoying, dirty rotten -"

"He may be annoying and no-good, but he's really handsome." Leila said, wiggling her eyebrows, just to get on Nico's nerves.

"Do not tell me that you're falling for an Egyptian." Nico said grumpily.

She laughed and punched his arm. "Take a joke, di Angelo. And what's that thing you just did with the shadows?"

"Shadow travelling." Nico said, clearly relieved that they were changing the subject.

"So...you can go anywhere in the world? As long as there's a shadow?" she said, impressed.

"Well, yeah. But I'm not very good at it." Nico said bashfully.

"Is that how you met Percy? Through one of your shadow travelling adventures?"

Nico looked down, and said delicately, "No. He and a satyr found us - I mean,_ me_ in a school in Maine, and took me to Camp Half-Blood. I don't usually stay here, though. I come and go from time to time."

That sounded like a pretty sad life, and she could tell that Nico wasn't telling her the whole story.

"There's something you're not telling me. You and Percy...I feel like...you don't like each other very much. What did he do to you?"

"I'm not ready to tell you." Nico said in a tight voice. "And I think a god wants to see you."

"Oh, great. Where is he from this time? Spain? Norway?"

Nico stared at her. "No. He's the camp director. Be nice, or be killed."

He stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and began to walk away, leaving Leila alone in the forest. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and whipped around.

"There goes a very troubled young man." said the owner of the hand. He was a pudgy dude in a suit, and his breath smelled like wine. He surveyed Leila with an amused expression on his face. "I'm Mr. D., the camp director. Being the brat you are, you've caused quite a bit of trouble. We have a lot to talk about."

* * *

*****A/N: WOOHOO! SCHOOL'S OUT! Which means that I can write more! **

**Did you like the Anubis/Leila conversation? Let me know by reviewing! **

**Also: Do you want me to write the conversation between Mr. D and Leila? Or do you want me to skip to Percy/Annabeth's POV?**

**The more feedback I have, the faster I can decide which POV to write. Please, please, _please_ review, it means the world to me.**


	39. Leila meets Aliel

**Leila's POV**

_You'll just end up killing everyone here anyway. _Mr. D's words to her earlier echoed in her mind. _Not that I ever liked this blasted camp. _

Sighing, Leila dug her elbows into the warm sand, gazing at the sun setting over the ocean. She drew idly on the ground, tracing shapes that quickly faded.

"You were never the greatest artist." said a voice.

Leila whipped around, but there was nothing there but a rock.

She got on her knees, and said, "Who's there?"

Then, right next to her ear, came that voice again: "Oh, I love seeing you panic."

Leila's eyes darted to her right, but she saw nothing but the beautiful scenery of the beach.

The voice began to laugh in delight, and Leila saw the source...a gorgeous girl with long, wavy hair and luminous golden eyes outlined with heavy eyeliner. Her tanned skin seemed to glow with a yellow hue. Leila fingered her knife and said, "Who are you?"

The girl stuck her tongue out at her and ignored her question. She dipped her toe in the water. "I'd love to go for a dip." said the girl longingly. "But you can't swim, can you?"

"How'd you know that?" Leila responded warily.

"I know everything about you." said the girl, grinning like a maniac. Faster than Leila could blink, the girl moved several feet closer to her.

"Uh..." Leila said, backing up slightly. "You can go away now."

Without any warning, the girl drew her fist back and was about to punch her in the face, but Leila had fast reflexes. She ducked, drew her knife, and held it at the girl's neck.

"Ooo, you're fast!" the girl laughed. "But you can't hurt me!"

"Why not?" Leila growled.

"Try." the girl challenged.

Leila slashed her weapon down the girl's shoulder, and immediately felt a red-hot pain erupt in her own. She looked to her left, and saw blood trickling out of a slash at the exact same spot where she had struck the girl.

"Whenever you try to hurt me, you just hurt yourself. A bit pointless, really." the girl giggled.

The girl's wound closed quickly, and her shirt repaired itself. "Now that we've gotten to know each other, my name is Aliel. Much better name than yours, if I do say so myself."

Leila was barely listening.

_Whenever you hurt me, you just hurt yourself.' _she recalled. _Who the Hades is she? _

Was Aliel some Greek goddess? Leila couldn't connect her to any mythological figure. Aliel...

"You're starting to figure it out!" the girl said, clapping her hands. "Though I'm flattered you think I'm a goddess."

"You can read minds too? Great." Leila scowled.

"I can't read minds, silly. Only yours. Think harder." Aliel drew a dagger and slashed downwards. Leila sidestepped and nicked Aliel's face. As Aliel's wound began to close, Leila could feel one on her face opening.

"You can't defeat me." Aliel crooned. "You're only as good as I am."

_Aliel..._why did that sound so familiar? Why did Leila feel as if she knew her? She dodged a flurry of deadly punches and kicks, but she couldn't hold out for long - especially since Aliel seemed unbeatable.

Aliel snapped her fingers, and time stopped. Leila moved at the speed of a glacier, and helplessly watched Aliel catch her breath and brush imaginary dirt off of her shoulder.

"Now what shall I do with you?" Aliel smiled, her golden eyes glittering with hatred.

_Bang! _A punch came through Leila's defenses.

_Bang! _She fell to the ground.

_Bang! _Blood shot out of her nose like a fireworks display.

Aliel pinned her to the ground and held her dagger to Leila's neck.

"Luke trained you well." she leered. "You could fight any opponent, even a god, all day if necessary. But I am someone who you can never touch, never kill."

"Who...?" Leila croaked.

"No one else can see me but you. I am faster, stronger, and even more _attractive _than you."

Realization dawned on Leila. "Shit. Aliel backwards is _Leila_."

Aliel looked pleased. "You've finally figured it out. I am_ you_. I am the side of your mind which Kronos controls. I am what you could have been if you accepted the power Kronos offered you. Your mind created me once you rejected the Lord of Time. All of those bruises and cuts on your face? You did that to _yourself_."

Leila scrambled back. "You can't...you can't be me!"

"But I am." Aliel yanked Leila to her feet. "Oh, we're going to have _such fun _together."

"Leila?" a concerned voice said nearby. Leila turned, and saw Percy approaching her on the beach.

"I'd love to see the look on Jackson's face once he finds out his sister's insane!" Aliel whispered excitedly.

"Shut up!" Leila hissed.

"Who're you talking to?" Percy asked, his eyes skirting past Aliel. His expression turned to concern. "Hey, are you alright? You look horrible."

Leila automatically reached up to touch a particularly nasty bruise on her nose. "Um...yeah." She made a quick decision not to tell Percy about what had happened. "I fell." she added lamely.

His eyebrows shot up. "You fell." he repeated in disbelief.

Leila glared at him. "How else did you expect me to break my nose?"

"I dunno. I thought that you got into a fight or something." Percy shrugged.

"She did. With _herself_." Aliel murmured.

"Stop it!" Leila yelled, turning to Aliel.

"No." Aliel sneered.

"Okay, you officially need to eat dinner." Percy said, wrapping his arm around Leila. "You're going crazy from hunger."

"Crazy..._crazy.._.Leila's going _crazy_..." Aliel sang in her ear. She dug her fingers into Leila's wrist, making her wince.

Percy looked worried. "Does your nose hurt?"

"It's not my stupid nose." Leila muttered, irritated.

"_Stupid..._" Aliel hissed.

"Percy, just ignore me for the next couple of minutes." Leila said. "I need to talk to myself."

"What?"

"Just do it." Leila said sharply. She then stared angrily at Aliel. "Can you stop following me?"

Aliel shrugged, clearly enjoying herself. "I'll leave you for now, I guess. I become weaker once I'm in the presence of people you love. But don't worry - I'll be back." With a last chuckle, Aliel faded from Leila's view.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Percy furrowed his eyebrows together. "Are you yelling at your imaginary friend or something?"

Leila sighed in relief. "Forget it. She's gone now. Let's go eat, Jackson; I'm_ starving._"

Clearly freaked out, Percy began to lead her faster towards the dining pavilion.

_It's not over yet. _Aliel's voice murmured in her head. _You will pay dearly for betraying Master. The things I have in store for you, Leila Brooke...Let's just say your life would have been much less painful if you had remained loyal to Kronos. _

_I'm not afraid of you. _Leila thought.

_But you are. _Aliel said softly. _I'm worse than any other monster you've faced before. And y__ou're more scared than you've ever been in your life._

* * *

*****Do you like Aliel in this story? Hate her? Let me know by reviewing!**

**Which POV do you want next? I'm leaning more towards Percy/Nico (maybe Annabeth?), but more importantly, what do _you _guys want?**


	40. Am I Crazy?

**Nico's POV**

Nico hung around the edge of the pavilion, trying to stay in the shadows.

If there was anything he hated more, it was the huge crowd of powerful, judgmental, stuck up adolescents who looked at him strangely just because he was a son of Hades (and maybe, Nico conceded, he wore a little too much black).

He scanned the tables quickly, trying to catch sight of Percy or Leila, but the children of Poseidon were nowhere to be found. Annabeth and Keaton looked worried – their eyes darted to the Poseidon table every minute or so.

Then, striding out of the forest came Percy, closely followed by Leila. Stares followed them as they walked to their table. Nico chuckled a little at Clarisse la Rue's murderous expression.

Leila bit her lip nervously and muttered something to Percy. He pulled a goofy face, making her laugh, and motioned at the platter of pizza between them. They each took a piece and began to eat. Every now and then, Leila would make a face and press a finger to her temple. If Percy would notice, she would try to pass it off as brushing her hair out of her face.

Nico was becoming better at reading people and their emotions. Sure, he wasn't great at making friends, but that couldn't really be helped. _Hi, I'm Nico Di Angelo. I'm over seventy years old, but I look twelve. I can summon the dead with the snap of my fingers and my daddy's the god of the Underworld! Want to be my friend?_

That didn't seem to bother Leila, though. She was the only person he could actually stand the presence of for a long period of time. He still couldn't believe that someone as pretty as her would pay attention to a guy like him.

Still…everyone thought that he was bizarre, even Percy, who was one of the most was accepting people he knew.

"I don't think you're bizarre." Whispered a voice next to him that made Nico nearly jump out of his skin.

"Gods, Leila!" he yelped. "Don't creep up on me like that!"

"Sorry." She said, not sounding sorry at all. "But you do it to me all the time."

"True." Nico shrugged. "Weren't you just with Percy? And how'd you read my mind like that?"

Leila snorted. "You were talking to yourself. And right now, you're more important than Percy."

Nico felt his chest swell for a moment. _More important than Percy?_

She motioned towards the forest. "Come on. Let's take a walk."

* * *

"Holy Zeus, what happened to your face?" Nico asked, bringing out his canteen of nectar.

Leila tugged on her hair apprehensively. "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

"Of course I'd believe you." Nico dabbed some nectar on Leila's nose, watching her wounds shrink rapidly and disappear.

She took a deep breath. "Someone attacked me on the beach earlier today."

"What?" Nico was surprised that anyone had the guts to fight her. "Who was it?"

"It was this girl named Aliel who works for Kronos. She's…strong, and impossible to beat in a fight."

Aliel? Nico searched through the names of all the demigods he knew, and Aliel was foreign to him.

"Is she a camper?"

Leila grimaced and said in a strained voice, "In a way, yes."

"These riddles aren't helping me help you. You need to tell me _who she is_."

She stuck her hand in her pocket and flicked out her knife. Then, she traced the letters, "A-L-I-E-L" on the forest floor.

"Take a look at how it's spelled backwards." she said softly.

"Why in Hades –" Nico started to say, but then he stopped. He had pretty bad dyslexia, but this was hard to miss. "Aliel…_Leila._"

"I did this to myself." She said, waving her hands over some of the cuts still left on her face.

"Say what?"

"She's _me_." Leila said, her voice breaking. "No one else can see her but _me_. She lives inside my mind and she can control time and –" Her sentence cut off, and she stared at him, probably hoping that he believed her.

Nico forced himself to be calm. _This is so not good. _

"When did this start?" he said in a neutral tone.

"I told you. On the beach."

"What does Aliel usually tell you?"

Leila cracked a smile. "You're starting to sound like a psychiatrist."

"Jeez, Brooke, I'm trying to help you!"

Leila's eyes unfocused for a moment.

"Uh…hello?" Nico snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Leila? Are you listening?"

When she focused on him, she began to laugh maniacally, and sang, "Leila's crazy. Leila's crazy_. _Don't listen to a word she says. She should be locked up. She's a spy. She's _insane._"

Nico slowly began to back away from her, and said, "Leila, you can stop now. That's really disturbing."

She blinked a few times and muttered, "Sorry. I'm just repeating what she's saying right now."

"Why does she say that?" said Nico in fascination.

"How should I know?" Leila said helplessly. She studied him for a moment before saying quietly, "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"No! Gods, of course not!" Nico said sincerely. He added, "Have you told Percy yet?"

"...no." she said, avoiding his gaze.

Nico gritted his teeth. "Tell. Percy. What. Happened."

Leila slammed her fist against a trunk. "You don't understand, Nico. This is a fight that Percy _can't win_. He's already worried about the whole Kronos possession thing, along with the other million things that I've made him responsible for. He's going to crack under all the pressure I'm putting on him."

After a brief pause, he said, "I see. So you feel guilty."

"Of course I do. Who wouldn't?" Leila scowled at him.

Nico sat down on a fallen tree and patted the space next to him. Leila rolled her eyes and sat down.

"I think I can help you with this." He said, turning to face her.

"How?"

He turned the ring on his forefinger for a few minutes, contemplating what he should tell her.

"What do you know about the children of Hades?" he said.

Leila furrowed her eyebrows. "They can summon the dead, and they're super creepy?"

Nico waved his hand. "Besides that. I mean, what people do you know of who are children of Hades? Like, throughout history?"

"Um…Napoleon…Stalin…Hitler…" Leila rattled off.

"Exactly." Nico nodded. "Most have been dictators, or tyrants in their times. They've all forced people to do things that they don't want to do."

"What's your point?"

"My _point _is that for me, it's like…it's like there's a mini Hitler inside of me, telling me stuff I don't want to hear." Nico clenched his fists. "Sometimes I just want to _kill _people for no valid reason."

Leila gave a nervous laugh. "But you never…you wouldn't…murder millions of people like Hitler and Stalin did, right? You're not like that."

"I could." He said darkly. "But I don't. This Aliel is trying to make you feel vulnerable, trying to make you doubt yourself. You have to surround yourself with stuff that makes you feel happy, so you won't feel alone all the time."

Nico was only telling the partial truth. He had a suspicion that Kronos had planted Aliel in her mind in order to make Leila seem like a lunatic to the others, and make her feel spiteful. Anything to get her on the dark side again.

Then, out of the blue, Leila asked, "What makes you happy?"

"Being with you." Nico blurted out. He then turned beet red and scratched the back of his neck. _Why the Hades did I say that!?_ "Um…I mean…you don't treat me like I'm different. And…er…I don't ever have the urge to strangle you, unlike Percy or anyone else."

"I'm really honored." Leila chortled. She stood up, bringing an air of finality to their conversation. "You have to go, don't you?"

"How did you know that?"

"Because you're about to ask me what made Luke invincible and able to host Kronos. Then, you're going to find out whether I'm telling the truth. Plus, you become nervous when you're around girls." Leila laughed at his shocked expression. "I know you better than you think, Nico."

He felt a smile creeping on his face. "Okay. Tell me."

Leila's expression became serious. "It's very dangerous. It could kill Percy."

"Let me guess: it's his only chance of surviving a fight against Kronos."

"Exactly." she nodded. "The River Styx. Luke went there without telling me why, but I already knew that he needed its properties for his…transformation."

"Hang on, so you knew about Luke turning into Kronos, and you didn't tell us when we were in Daedalus' workshop?" Nico accused.

"I wasn't on your side then." Leila countered. "I wanted to kill Percy, remember?"

"Right." he said, still unable to believe he was looking at the same Leila. "So, I guess I'll see you around, then?"

Leila nodded, taking out a pen from her pocket. She scribbled something on his hand, and said, "My address. Whenever you're in the Bay Area and…want to hang out, or something."

Nico smiled grimly. "I'm not the best person to 'hang out with, or something'."

"Shut up, di Angelo. You know I'm not either." Very true.

He stared at his hand. "You aren't staying here for the whole year?"

"I can't." she said simply.

He understood immediately. Sure, Camp Half-Blood was a safe haven for demigods, but it sometimes felt like a prison.

_The Underworld._ He thought as he stepped into the shadows. The shadows complied, growing darker and darker, swallowing his body.

"Try not to kill anyone!" he yelled to Leila as he was sucked into the darkness.

* * *

*****A/N: Over 200 reviews?! I love you guys! **

**About the mispelling of Aliel's name, I literally remembered while I was in the shower and ran out soaking wet so I could fix it. BUT ALAS, my lovely readers caught it before I could.**

**How did I write Nico's POV? Wonderfully? Horribly? Let me know which POV you want next by reviewing!**


	41. AN: Rewrite of the House of Hades!

**A/N: Hey everybody! I'm sorry that this isn't a chapter, but I wanted to let you know that I am ****_rewriting _****my spinoff of "The House of Hades". I have ****_deleted _****all the chapters and posted the first chapter of the rewrite. **

**If any of you have already read my HoH before, I strongly encourage you to ****_reread _****it, because I found that a lot of facts in the story didn't correspond to events which occured in "The Pawn of Kronos". I will also be including many more references to "The Pawn of Kronos" in the rewrite. **

**Thanks, guys! The new chapter of this story should be up either today or tomorrow! **


	42. Leila Makes a Promise

**Percy's POV**

"So, how was your talk with Nico?" Percy asked curiously, walking towards the Poseidon cabin.

He hated to acknowledge it, but he didn't like that Leila was spending so much time with the son of Hades. He couldn't see why she would want to, seeing that the guy was bitter over the death of Bianca and at one point hated his guts.

Leila shrugged. "It was okay. We were just talking about…where I would be staying and stuff."

Percy didn't really believe her, but he kept quiet. He had a feeling that she was hiding something from him, but he decided to save it for the morning. Especially since Leila looked dead on her feet.

"BROTHER!" yelled a voice in the distance.

Percy turned. "Hey, Tyson! We missed you at dinner!"

"Briares needed directions on how to get to Daddy's forges. I gave them to him!" Tyson said proudly.

Leila smiled a little, and she opened the door to the cabin. "Wow." she murmured, stepping inside. "This is really clean."

"That's all you have to say?" Percy demanded.

"Hey, it's a compliment!" Leila said defensively. "I thought it would be a lot messier with two guys living here!"

Tyson frowned. "I clean the cabin every day."

"Does Percy help you?" Leila asked.

The big guy thought for a few minutes. "No." he finally said. "But he is a good big brother."

"See?" Percy said, satisfied. "Tyson said I was a good big brother!"

"That's because Tyson's the sweetest Cyclops alive." Leila said, scowling at him. She turned away from him and ran her fingers along the frame of the bunk bed. "Are you sure I should stay here? I haven't even been claimed yet."

" 'Course you can." Percy said, yawning hugely. "Now…sleepy time."

As Leila stared outside the window, he pulled on his favorite Finding Nemo pajamas. Tyson was already crashed out, and he was snoring so loudly that his bed started to shake.

"Night." Percy muttered as he fell asleep.

**Leila's POV**

Camp Half-Blood was weird. When Leila was training under Luke, she literally slept just before midnight and got up at dawn to train. Over here, everyone was laid back, somewhat happy, and…so ignorant.

The campers had no idea what was coming to them when Percy turned sixteen.

_No thinking about prophecies._ She instructed herself. _Focus on finding clothes._

She opened the tiny cupboard next to the window and discovered a dusty box literally labeled: EXTRA CLOTHES FOR INCOMING FEMALE POSEIDON CAMPERS (HA HA LIKE THAT'LL EVER HAPPEN). Leila rummaged inside the box and managed to find a pair of shorts and a camp shirt that fit.

As soon as she made sure that Percy and Tyson were sound asleep, she took off her layers of clothing and put on the clothes. Unfortunately, the short sleeves exposed the tattoos and scars that she hated.

"Oh well." she muttered. "They'll just have to deal with it."

Leila tiptoed to the bathroom and washed her face. As she stared at her reflection, she saw someone else behind her that made her heart jump into her throat – Aliel.

"Get out." Leila growled.

Aliel smirked. "You'll never be trusted here. You're _never, ever _going to fit in."

Leila's breathing became shallow. Aliel smiled at the fear written on her face.

"Scaredy cat!" Aliel mocked. "Leila's a _scaredy cat! _She's scared of _herself_!"

Leila fumbled with the doorknob, but Aliel secured the door so she couldn't get out.

"No escaping me this time." Aliel's golden eyes glinted with cruelty as she smashed Leila's head against the bathroom door. Leila tasted blood as Aliel slammed her mouth with her fists and kicked her stomach mercilessly.

"Stop…please." she moaned, sliding to the floor.

Aliel stood in front of her, triumphant, and said, "You are nothing. You are _nothing_, Leila Brooke. You are lonely and pathetic. Nothing can save you now. Your pretty camp will be in flames and your friends' corpses will litter the floor. You are _useless_. Weak."

For a moment, Leila believed it. A lump formed in her throat, and she repeated to herself, "_Useless. Weak._"

"You think that this camp needs you? As if!" Aliel threw her head back and laughed. "They have the _great _Perseus Jackson, someone who will always outshine his sister. You could have become the greatest warrior in history. You could have had the power of Time. You could have been stronger than me. But you didn't accept it. Because you're a _fool_."

Leila grabbed both of Aliel's hands and abruptly twisted them behind her back. She felt the sting in her own wrists, but she ignored the pain.

"No," Leila said, breathing heavily, "I gave up all of that because I'm _not a fool_. Power doesn't tempt me." She threw Aliel into the shower door and ran outside the room, slamming the door behind her.

_I become weaker in the presence of people you love. _Leila recalled. She climbed into a bunk close to Percy and huddled in the sheets like a child, as if she were waiting for the monster to come out from under the bed. Aliel glowered at her and spit, "This isn't over. Jackson can't protect you forever."

She turned into a blue wisp, and Leila gasped as it entered her forehead.

She stared at the ceiling, fingering the new cuts on her face, praying for sleep to come.

Hours later, Leila's eyes slid shut, and she fell asleep.

* * *

In her dream, Leila saw a girl with olive skin and familiar dark eyes shooting silvery arrows at targets in front of her. The girl was amazing; she hit the bull's eye every time.

"You're really good at archery." Leila blurted out.

The girl turned and grinned at her. "I was a Hunter of Artemis when I lived." Her face took on a sad, faraway expression. "Now I practice just to remind myself of the good days."

"You remind me of someone I know." Leila struggled to match the girl's face with the person she had in mind.

A smile hovered on the girl's lips. "I'm Bianca di Angelo."

"W-what?" Leila said, surprised. "Nico has a sister?"

"Had." Bianca corrected. "I died last winter."

Leila wasn't sure how to respond. "Oh. Uh…I'm sorry?"

Bianca waved her hand in front of her, and the scenery changed. Leila saw a bunch of tents in a forest next to a gray, stormy sea. Bianca taking the oath of serving as a Hunter of Artemis. Percy laughing and chatting with Bianca along with Grover, and some other people who Leila couldn't recognize. Bianca climbing into a robot, and the robot disintegrating, taking her life. Percy's grief stricken face. Nico's angry expression once he finds out that his sister is dead.

"Nico wrongly blamed Percy Jackson for my death." Bianca continued with a forlorn expression. "He's alone in the mortal world. He has no friends, and the only people he talks to are ghosts…which is very dangerous."

"He talks to me."

"Exactly." Bianca stepped closer to her. "Promise me that you'll protect him."

"I – what?"

"Promise me that you'll stick up for him."

"I…I'll try."

"I won't be with him for very long, and…you need to be there for him. The way I wasn't when I lived."

"Bianca, Nico and I are_ friends_." Leila insisted. "You know that I'll be there for him."

The daughter of Hades beamed at her and said, "You have a good heart, Leila Brooke. Remember me, will you?"

Leila nodded, and watched as Bianca's face relaxed. The Hunter of Artemis closed her eyes and melted into the scenery, leaving behind an empty quiver and bow.


	43. Leila's Caught Talking to Herself

**Leila's POV**

Leila woke with a start, her chest heaving. She squinted at the clock, and realized that she had woken up at her usual time of 5 o'clock: the time she usually got rudely awakened by Luke to train. She couldn't fall back asleep, so she climbed off her bunk, trying not to make any noise. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and groaned.

She looked like a zombie. Purple patterns of bruises were scattered along her cheekbones, and her lips were swollen and cut from Aliel's blows. Her right eye was a brilliant purple and was tender to the touch. Her forehead had a huge slash that was still bleeding a little.

Leila found a tiny canteen of nectar hidden in one of the cupboards, and dripped it on her face, sighing in relief as the wounds closed.

_I hope there's a lot more where that came from! _Aliel said cheerily in her mind. _Got lots planned for you!_

"What do you get out of hurting me?" Leila murmured.

_Your sanity, of course. _Aliel said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. _And the bigger question is, why are you doing this to yourself? You created me. _

"No, I didn't." Leila snarled.

_Telling yourself that again and again won't make it any more true. _Aliel whispered.

Leila yanked a brush through her hair angrily and braided it sloppily. She threw cold water on her face a few times.

"I'm _not _crazy." she insisted to her reflection.

The door creaked as she opened it, but Percy and Tyson didn't stir. Then again, a meteor could crash into the cabin and they still wouldn't wake up.

She shut the door behind her and sprinted around the U-shaped formation of cabins a few times to get her blood moving. She jogged to the empty armory and sharpened her knife. Then, she weighed a couple of swords in her hands before choosing the right one. As she entered the arena, she evaluated the straw dummies and the raised pavilion.

"Not as big, but it'll do." she told herself.

_What's the point in training here? _Aliel grumbled as Leila stabbed and sliced through the air. _This arena is child's play compared to the one Luke offered you._

"Luke was brutal when it came to training." Leila said. "The way he taught was wrong."

_But it was effective. _

Leila didn't respond, but she knew that Aliel was right to a certain degree.

_Does it surprise you that we agree on some things? _

"Of course." Leila said. "You're so different from me."

_Not as different as you may think. We're similar in many ways. _

"Oh, please." she skewered one of the dummies. "Name one thing."

_You can't deny that we both love to fight. You adore the feel of the sword in your hands, the exhilaration of a battle, the thrill of ending someone's life._

Leila froze, and said coldly, "I have never enjoyed killing people."

_Maybe not now. But you did once. You still have traces of the old personality you had when you served Kronos. No one would know better than me – I have full access to your mind, your memories, your experiences. You're even still on the sleep cycle that Luke set up for you. _

"Yeah, well, old habits die hard." she said. "And Luke was a tyrant. He controlled everything about my life."

_Perhaps. But you liked the attention._

"I hated it." Leila snapped, beheading a row of dummies.

As her sword was about to finish the full arc, she heard a_ clang _sound of metal on metal as her weapon came in contact something invisible.

Frowning, Leila swung her sword against the spot again, and she heard the same sound.

"That's my dagger you're hitting." said a voice in front of her.

Annabeth Chase took off her invisibility cap, and smirked at Leila's shocked expression.

"Were you spying on me?" she accused.

Annabeth shrugged. "I always come in the morning to practice. Do you always talk to yourself?"

"Um…" Leila fumbled. "Yeah. It's a new thing."

The daughter of Athena looked at her critically. "There's a difference between talking to yourself and talking_ to _someone. You were saying, 'I have never enjoyed killing people,' and 'You're so different from me.' You were obviously arguing with _someone._"

Leila couldn't believe how nosy she was being. "Whom I talk to is none of your business." she scowled.

"Maybe not." Annabeth said. "But I'm a child of Athena. I get curious."

"Sure, but this is the second time in a week. Could you lay off a little? I swear I'm not trying to assassinate Chiron or set the camp on fire." Leila said, raising her hands.

Annabeth narrowed her gray eyes. "I promise not to spy on you again. In exchange for information."

* * *

**Annabeth's POV**

Leila studied her sword, and said carefully, "I would have told you anyway even if you hadn't offered not to invade my privacy, but go ahead."

Annabeth licked her lips nervously. "You were talking about Luke earlier."

Leila's face hardened, and she ran her fingers down the shiny blade.

_Touchy subject._ Annabeth noticed.

"What do you want to know?" Leila finally asked.

"Everything."

Leila hit her sword against the dirt irritably. "Luke Castellan. Not a nice guy. Brilliant swordsman. I was the equivalent of his right hand man once." After a beat, she added reluctantly, "I loved it."

"You –"

"Yeah, you heard right." Leila said. For a moment, Annabeth saw a trace of the rage that Leila constantly had in her expression when they first met. It faded quickly as she looked up at the ceiling and exhaled. "That part of me is gone now. Why do you care so much about him, though?"

Annabeth felt a lump in her throat and she said in a barely audible tone, "Luke found me when I was very young. He was one of the few people who cared about me for a long time. He was…my best friend."

Leila shook her head in frustration. "I know what you're really asking. If there's any good in him left."

Annabeth waited expectantly, but instead of saying a yes or no answer, Leila began to roll up her right pant leg.

"What are you doing?" Annabeth asked.

"I want to show you something." Leila said tightly. She pointed at a long scar that curved from the middle of her thigh to her ankle. "Luke gave me that when I asked who his dad was. No ambrosia. No nectar. No sea water. Nothing to help with the healing process."

"I –"

But Leila wasn't listening. She traced a particularly deep mark on her wrist. "That was for not putting on my armor fast enough when we had a drill."

"And this was for questioning his authority." Leila raised her bangs, revealing a white scratch running along her hairline.

Leila continued showing Annabeth wounds and discolorations, describing the story behind them, usually involving the various punishments that Luke inflicted upon her.

"I get it, Leila. Just…stop!" Annabeth begged.

"No, you don't." Leila hissed. "Those injuries will fade with time, but will _this_?" She shoved her arm into Annabeth's face, displaying the tattoos branded on her skin.

"The tattoos were Kronos' doing. Not Luke's." Annabeth barely managed to say.

Leila glared at her and said, "Let's get this straight. Luke_ voluntarily_ gave his body to Kronos. He was happy to. Overjoyed to serve his precious _Master_."

Annabeth was about to yell, _No he wasn't!_, and spill her meeting with Luke last winter, but quickly decided against it.

Leila got up and was about to storm away, but caught sight of Annabeth's expression. It must have been pretty bad, because Leila's eyes softened in pity.

She said quietly, "I'm sorry, Annabeth. If it makes you feel any better, I'd be a liar if I didn't say that there were times in which…Luke seemed like a normal person. Like he was trying to break free of his brainwashed self. But it never lasted."

Annabeth knuckled away a tear. "Now that we're all apologizing, I'm sorry that I didn't trust you earlier."

"And you still don't trust me." Leila said, folding her arms.

"True." Annabeth confirmed.

"Very smart of you." she said darkly. "I take back my words earlier. You shouldn't trust me at all. Especially with_ her _in my head."

"Who?"

Leila's eyes widened, like she'd said too much. "Uh…"

"You're hiding something from me."

"Definitely." she agreed.

"Something major."

"You know it."

"You recognize that I'll figure it out eventually, right?"

Leila smiled sadly. "Probably."

Annabeth stuck her hand in her pocket and held out a sheet of paper.

"What's this?" Leila asked, but not taking it from her.

"Your schedule." Annabeth said. "Chiron told me to give it to you."

Leila raised an eyebrow. "You've noticed that the campers here avoid me like the plague, correct?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's only temporary. The same thing happened to Percy when he first came. Now he's the most popular guy here."

"Only because he saved the world around ten thousand times. Other than that, he's a complete dork." Leila scoffed.

"Well, you're obligated to feel that way, because you're related." Annabeth fingered her Yankees cap. "Other people here think he's brave and funny, but don't you _dare _tell him I said that."

Leila studied her for a minute and nodded, like her suspicions had been proven true.

"Don't look at me like that!" Annabeth said, flushing furiously. "Why do people think – that he and I – ugh! Here's your stupid schedule!" She threw the paper at Leila's amused face, and struggled to resist the urge to throttle her.

"We're going to be great friends, Chase!" Leila yelled after her, still laughing, "I can feel it!"

"Highly unlikely." Annabeth muttered, pulling on her cap. But as she looked back on that conversation later, she realized that Leila was absolutely right.

* * *

*****A/N: 230 reviews, 39 favorites, 47 followers, and over 16,000 views. How did that happen?**

**I sincerely mean it when I say thank you to every single person who has ever reviewed or even looked at this story. I expected maybe 100 reviews at the most, but this wildly overshot my expectations. Your feedback honestly helps me continue this story.**

**Anyway, how did you like Annabeth's POV? Nailed it? Or was it totally OOC? Let me know by reviewing!**


	44. Clarisse Gets Taught a Lesson

**Percy's POV**

"You want to _what?_" Percy said, staring at Leila from across the dining table.

She calmly took another bite of pancake. "I want to come with you to your cabin leadership meeting after breakfast. I have a basic idea of what you guys are going to talk about, and I need to have a say."

Percy started to tick the cabins off with his fingers. "The head of the Ares cabin wants to murder you. Apollo's wants to kick you out. Hermes' wants to steal all of your stuff, and _then _kick you out. And the rest of the leaders are scared sick of you." He was pretty proud of himself for thinking of such a good comeback, but Leila didn't look convinced.

"I don't _want _to come to your crappy conference." Leila grimaced. "But I _have _to go. Percy, these people are the most influential in the camp, and I need them to change their minds about me. Plus, I know stuff that you guys should probably know."

Tyson grunted in agreement. "I think my sister is right."

Leila looked at him smugly and said, "Then it's decided."

"Can I have your knife after you die at this meeting?" Percy asked.

Leila threw a grape at him so hard that it splattered against his forehead. "No."

Percy wiped the juice off his face and muttered to himself about stubborn daughters of Poseidon and how they were up to no good.

"You're starting to sound like Mr. D." Leila said, amused. "Though he threatened to turn me into a porpoise earlier."

"That's nothing. He said he would turn me into a bottlenose dolphin." Percy said proudly.

"He told me humpback whale." Tyson added helpfully.

They all laughed loudly. Mr. D glared at them murderously, probably listing further sea creatures in his mind and imagining the children of Poseidon turning into them.

Percy wanted to live in this moment forever, but he stood up reluctantly and signaled to Leila that it was time to leave.

"See you at Leila's funeral, Tyson!" Percy said.

"I will bring flowers!" Tyson said, looking a little confused.

"Would you stop doing that?" Leila frowned at him. "I'm not scared of that bigheaded daughter of Ares."

"I'm not either. But she tried to shove my head down a toilet when I first came here."

"I'd break her hand before she'd try that with me." Leila murmured.

Percy reared back at the sudden spurt of violence. It disturbed him a little that he didn't doubt that Leila would actually break Clarisse's hand if she so much as looked at her.

She stopped unexpectedly in front of him, causing him to crash into her.

"What happened?" Percy said.

"Is that _Chris Rodriguez_?" Leila asked, pointing at his distant figure.

"Yeah. Clarisse la Rue found him in the Labyrinth and, um, I think they're dating now. Do you know him?"

Leila trudged onward and said shortly, "Yeah. I know him, alright."

Percy wondered what she meant by that.

* * *

"We're here." he announced, and dramatically gestured to the rec room.

Leila pulled open the door, and every voice in the room quieted at her appearance. Annabeth shook her head a little bit, like she was astonished at Leila's nerve.

As expected, Clarisse had the I'm-gonna-pulverize-you-as-soon-as-this-damned-mee ting-is-over look on her face.

"You'd think it was the King of Titans himself walking in the room." Leila mumbled to Percy.

Mr. D spared her a lazy glance and yawned conspicuously, turning the pages of his magazine. "Yes, yes. Let's get this over with."

Chiron exchanged looks with Percy, and cleared his throat, saying, "Er, quite right. We were going to discuss a few –"

"Spare us the lecture, Chiron. We know what you're getting at." Clarisse spit. "Poseidon's broken the oath twice. This girl's dangerous, _and _she's possessed by Kronos!"

"_Really?_ I'm _dangerous_?I didn't know!" Leila said mockingly.

"That's it." Clarisse shoved back her seat, but Chiron laid a hand on her shoulder. "Peace. Let Leila speak."

Leila sat down on a chair and beamed at the head camp counselors. Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, and Annabeth nodded at her, but Katie Gardner, the Stoll brothers, and the others looked at her in fear.

"First things first. Every single person in this room needs to believe what I'm about to say, because it could just about save this camp, and maybe the world." Leila paused and glanced at Annabeth, who smiled in encouragement.

"There's a massive invasion next summer and the camp is totally unprepared." She continued coolly. "Isn't that right, Mr. D?"

"Unprepared to the point of idiocy." Mr. D agreed, before returning to his magazine.

Leila pulled down one of those classroom roll-down maps that had been installed in the wall, and pointed her dagger at North America.

"Very soon, Kronos and his army will destroy nearly every major city in the United States." she said. "San Francisco. Seattle. Denver. Houston. Detroit. And eventually…New York City." She pointed at each city in turn.

"How can we stop him?" Silena asked quietly.

"We don't." she said bluntly. "It's impossible. While Kronos creates a diversion that will distract the gods in the Western and mid-Western states, it's up to us to defend Mount Olympus. Without the help of the gods."

"What is this diversion, though?" Annabeth said distractedly, like she was thinking of a thousand possibilities at once. "How can it be so dangerous that the gods would abandon their seats of power?"

"I'm not sure." Leila admitted. "Luke never told me about what he was going to unleash. Only that the monster was so terrible that the Olympians themselves feared it."

Percy's heart dropped, and a long silence hung in the air. The demigods looked at each other, like they couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"How do we know this is all happening next summer?" Travis Stoll piped up from the back.

Leila stared at him like it was obvious. "Isn't Percy turning sixteen next year?"

"Yeah, but there's still you." Connor said. "How are you so sure that you're not who the prophecy is referring to?"

"Kronos isn't going to wait for four more years." Leila said, rolling her eyes. "He wants Olympus to be destroyed _now_."

"You can't be serious." Clarisse scoffed.

Leila turned slowly and looked at Clarisse so coldly that Percy felt his spine tingle.

"Do you think this is a joke?" Leila hissed. "Kronos will be unstoppable. He will destroy everything you love. He will kill or enslave every last person in this room." She leaned forward a bit more. "Don't test me."

"You don't scare me." Clarisse sneered.

Leila slammed her dagger into the Ping Pong table so hard that everyone jumped.

"Then you're a fool." Leila said, her eyes glowing with anger. "I hear you're dating Chris Rodriguez? I trained with him while I served Kronos. You're a hypocrite, Clarisse. You would _date _a former member but you still won't trust me!"

Clarisse blinked like she had just been punched – which she had been, in a way.

"And you guys have another problem," Leila said. She scowled for a few moments. "There's a spy at Camp Half-Blood."

The room erupted into an argument, some people yelling names and cabins.

When it finally quieted down a little, Chiron questioned gravely, "Do you know who it is?"

Leila rubbed the tattoo on her neck worriedly. "I don't know who it is, but I know it's someone in a position of power. Someone who has been at this camp for a long time, who has been keeping Luke informed for years."

Everyone subconsciously glanced at Annabeth, and Leila must have noticed, because she snapped, "And it's not Annabeth, so don't look at her like that."

She sat down again, and looked at Percy, signifying that she was done.

"Hold on, Leila." Michael Yew said. "You still haven't explained what happened to you before the battle. Your eyes turned gold and you started acting like Kronos. How…?" he trailed off at Leila's expression.

"When I betrayed Kronos and joined Percy, he gave me these." she pointed at her tattoos. "Part of the spirit that Luke is currently hosting came into me and invaded my mind. That's why you saw what you saw that day."

Michael quickly averted his gaze.

"How can we risk having someone like you here?" Beckendorf asked in his deep voice.

Leila didn't look offended. "I was kind of hoping you'd ask that." she said, smiling a little. "Without me, you won't have a clue of what you're going to face next summer. I can train you. I can show you the battle formations used by the army and how to stop them. I can show you the weak spots in the monsters that fight for them. I have information that you need."

"Isn't that enough?" Percy demanded. "What more do you guys need? Leila actually wants to help us, and we were going to talk about throwing her out."

Chiron stomped his hoof in approval. "Then it's settled."

The room dissolved into conversation again.

Percy gave Leila a high-five and said, "Good job, sis. I didn't even have to use any of the famous Jackson charm."

Leila snorted. "What charm? You've been here for three years, and you still trip on your way out of your cabin."

Percy pouted, and said, "You're just saying that. You can't deny that I'm the cooler sibling."

Leila ignored him and worked her dagger out of the Ping Pong table. "That was easier than I thought it would be." she muttered. "I was thinking about holding you hostage and demanding that they keep me in the camp or something."

"Why didn't you do that?" Percy said with mock disappointment. "That would've been so much more awesome!"

Instead of responding with a snarky statement, Leila blinked a few times. She then turned pale and pressed her finger to her temple.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, alarmed.

"Um…yeah." she squeaked unconvincingly. "Just a headache. I'm going to go and get some fresh air."

She grabbed her dagger and practically ran out of the room.

"What was that about?" Annabeth said behind him.

"I don't know." Percy said, mystified. "She's been doing that a lot lately."

"If you ask me, Leila's been acting weird in general lately. She was talking to someone at the arena earlier today.".

"Who was it? Nico?" Percy asked curiously.

"That's what I would've thought, but there was no one there. She said she was talking to herself, but I'm not so sure."

"But if there was no one there, who could she have been talking to?"

"Exactly." Annabeth said. "I think it's time we had a little chat with Leila Brooke."

* * *

****A/N: I'm grinning like an idiot right now because of all the lovely reviews you guys left me for last chapter.**

**How did you like this one, though? Too slow? Fast? Just right? Let me know by reviewing!**

**On a more serious note, I received a PM a few days ago from someone who asked me whether I copied this story or not. How the heck could I have COPIED this story? How many people have written about a daughter of Poseidon serving Kronos then switching sides just to find out that she has an alter-ego planted by Kronos controlling her thoughts?**

**This is, of course, not directed at my amazing followers, whom I NEED HELP FROM FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! ****I'm obviously going to put the confrontation between Percy/Annabeth and Leila in the chapter, but I want to know whether you want scenes of Leila training the campers OR if you just want me to skip to the next major event. **

******Once again, let me know through PMs or reviews!**


	45. Archery

**Keaton's POV**

Keaton notched an arrow in his bow and aimed it at the target. As he was about loosen his finger and let it fly, he saw someone sprint in front of the targets, shouting, "Sorry! Sorry! Coming through!"

Keaton scowled and marched up to the camper. "Hey, you can't just – oh. Hi, Leila."

"Keaton!" Leila smiled and gave him a big hug. "I haven't seen you for a while! Listen, I got to…"

Keaton rolled his eyes. "Where are you running off to this time? I've hardly seen you these past few days. Months, actually."

She looked down sheepishly and brushed her hair out of her eyes, mumbling an apology.

"Did you get your schedule yet?" he asked.

Leila pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. She smoothed it out and studied it. "Yeah. Uh, I have…archery now. Cool! I've got it with you, then!"

Keaton grinned. "Why were you going anyway?"

Leila's expression darkened. "I've got a feeling that Percy and Annabeth are staging an interrogation with me, and are going to ask me about stuff that…I'm not ready to talk about yet."

"About…Kronos?"

Leila winced. "In a way, yes."

Keaton could tell that she didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he decided not to push it. He handed her a bow and a quiver.

She slung the quiver across her back and took the station next to him. Keaton watched her fire bull's eye after bull's eye, each arrow splitting the previous one.

"You're amazing!" Keaton exclaimed.

Leila made a face. "It took a lot of practice. I used to be awful."

Keaton shook his head in amazement. "How'd you learn so fast, though? Only Apollo's kids can shoot like that."

She hefted her bow and prepared to fire again. "Ever heard of Luke Castellan?"

"Who hasn't?"

"He was my personal trainer. Percy's archery sucks, so Luke made sure that it was one of my strongest suits."

Keaton felt his throat constricting. Sometimes he forgot that Leila used to be on Kronos' side.

He managed to hit one of the inner rings, and congratulated himself.

"So…um, how's Sage doing? I haven't seen him since – you know." Leila said.

Keaton looked at her, surprised. "Jeez, I've forgotten how long you've been gone. Sage was sent to a high school in Wyoming. There were reports of several demigods in that area or something."

Leila looked a little sad. "Oh. Okay."

"By the way, you're not wanted for questioning by the police anymore." Keaton said, trying to give her some good news. "Sage used the Mist to cover some stuff up."

She brightened considerably. "Nice! I'm not a convict!"

As Keaton pulled out another arrow and locked it into place, out of his peripheral vision he saw Leila studying his posture critically. She reached out and tugged his right arm downward.

"You're too tense." she said quietly. "And your legs are too close together."

Grumbling, Keaton followed her instructions and let the arrow go. It slammed smack in the middle of the target. Leila laughed as Keaton whooped and danced, yelling, "Finally! I did it!"

"Am I interrupting something?" said a cool voice behind them.

Keaton turned and saw Annabeth standing with her hands folded tightly across her chest. Next to her was Percy, looking like he'd rather die than be there.

"Actually, you are." Leila said in an equally calm voice, before returning to her archery.

"Leila, we need to talk to you." Percy said. "You've been acting kinda – whoa, was that a bull's eye?"

Annabeth smacked his arm. "Don't get distracted, Seaweed Brain. What Percy was _trying _to say was that you've been acting kind of strange lately."

"Strange?" Leila repeated. "Keaton, have I been acting _strange _lately?"

She winked subtly at him and mouthed, _Go with it_.

"I haven't noticed anything." he said, shrugging slightly. He loaded his quiver with arrows, trying to avoid Annabeth's famous glare.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Leila Brooke!" she said, frustrated. "Your 'headaches' and your talks with your imaginary friend –"

_Imaginary friend? _Keaton thought.

"So what? My head hurts sometimes. I have a friend I like to talk to. You promised not to invade my privacy again, Annabeth. Remember? Quit it with the questions." Leila said, a little irritated.

Rule number one: _Never _tell an Athena kid to stop asking questions. You'll probably end up with a Greek-English dictionary in your face or an arrow in your butt. This was especially true with Annabeth.

Annabeth scowled at her and made a move for her dagger, but Percy stepped between the two, holding out his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. How about I ask the questions from now on?"

"_No one's_ going to be asking me any questions." Leila growled. "How about you two just _leave me alone_?"

Keaton had a feeling that she wasn't just talking about Percy and Annabeth anymore.

"Fine." Annabeth finally snapped. "We were just trying to help you."

"Didn't seem like it." Leila muttered as Annabeth stormed away angrily.

Percy sent his sister an apologetic look, like, _Hey, this wasn't my idea!, _before drifting off to the canoeing lake.

Leila sighed in relief, and said, "Thanks for sticking up for me, Wyse."

"I didn't do anything."

"You played along." she insisted. "That's helping."

Keaton squeezed her in a hug, and Leila wheezed, "Can't…breathe!"

When he let go of her, she demanded, "What was that for?!"

"Nothing. It's just good to have you back."

Leila's grin came back, and she bumped her shoulder with his. Keaton felt his heart do a tap dance under her intense gaze.

Then, out of the blue, she turned snow-white and collapsed.

"Leila? Leila!" Keaton said, checking her pulse. It seemed normal. He wrapped her arm around his shoulder and hoisted her up. "Oh gods. What do I do? What do I -I'm going to take you to the infirmary, okay? Chiron'll know what to -"

"No!" she said weakly. "Cabin…please."

"What's wrong?" Keaton said wildly. "What happened?"

She clutched her forehead with her free hand. "Ugh…head hurts. A lot. She's yelling at me again. Always hurts that way when she yells."

Half of what she said went over his head, but he nodded as if he understood and dragged her towards the cabins. Campers passing by weren't even sparing them a glance. Keaton guessed that people passed out here all the time.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally got her to the Poseidon cabin, and laid her on a bunk.

"Don't worry too much. It'll pass." she mumbled. "I'll be fine. Just go."

"No way!" Keaton protested. "I'm not leaving you here!"

Some of the old spark came back into Leila's eyes. She hoisted herself up and said heatedly, "Believe me when I say there's nothing you can do to help. Nectar and ambrosia is useless. Go, Keaton. For me." Her voice broke on the last part.

"I'll be close by." Keaton promised.

Leila nodded listlessly. "Don't tell anyone about this." she whispered.

Keaton slipped out of the door, leaving it open, and repeated to himself disdainfully, " 'Don't tell anyone about this?' Yeah, right. You need help, Brooke. Stop being stubborn."

And he ran to find Percy and Annabeth.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Imagine someone steamrolling your entire body, soaking it in some acid, then leaving it in a volcano to dry. Then multiply that pain by around 500. You still won't come even close to what was happening in Leila's mind.

_They'll fiiind youuuu! _Aliel sang.

Leila clutched her head and rolled to her side, taking deep breaths.

_Whoops! That son of Athena left the door open! Wouldn't want to do that, if I were you. You don't want to become a bigger burden to Percy than you already are! _

Leila crawled to the bathroom and slammed the door shut with her foot.

"Stop it!" she groaned. "What are you doing to me?"

_Teaching you a lesson. _Aliel snarled. _Every time you reveal more information about Kronos' army, you will feel his wrath._

Leila sat up, and said fiercely, "I don't _care_! These people need my help!"

_These people are using you. _Aliel corrected._ Are you still under the delusion that you're being kept here out of the kindness of Percy's heart? Please. He wants information._

"Percy loves me."

_A girl who tried to kill him? Sure._

"Shut up."

_Oooooh, you're getting angry. You know that when you get angrier, I can control you better, right?_ I_ made you slam your dagger against the table when you got pissed at that stupid daughter of Ares. I was just testing how much I can bend you to my will. _

"What happened to Kronos possessing me?" Leila mumbled.

_He won't be doing that anymore. This is much more effective and has bigger consequences. _Aliel said haughtily.

Leila chuckled weakly and kept quiet.

_What? _Aliel said in frustration. _Why are you smiling? _

"If Kronos can't possess me anymore, that means he's getting weaker. His power is limited in Luke's body."

_That may be true, but he's beginning to think that you're not worth the effort anymore. He might as well just kill you and your reputation off. Possibly your silly friends too._

Leila's vision turned red and she was just about to snap if she hadn't heard someone pounding on the door firmly.

"Leila, are you in there?"

Oh, shit. It was Percy.

* * *

**Annabeth's POV**

"Um, yeah!" came Leila's faint voice from inside the bathroom. "I'm just…brushing my teeth!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes at Percy. "It's the middle of the day." she pointed out.

"I'm one of those people who brush their teeth at weird times." Leila said in a strange voice. "Please go away."

Percy looked hesitant. "Annabeth, maybe we shouldn't do this. If something was wrong, then she would've told - "

"But she hasn't. Keaton had to tell us instead." Annabeth countered. She added sincerely, "I'm just as concerned as you are about her. We need to give her help if she needs it."

And she meant it. She was starting to view Leila as less of a threat and more as a friend. Especially since Leila stuck up for her during the meeting.

"What was that?" Percy said suddenly.

She frowned. "I didn't hear anything."

"Listen." he insisted, and put his ear to the door.

Annabeth followed suit, and heard muffled voices, and noises that usually came when two people were fighting.

_Bang!_

She jerked back. "What was _that_?" she exclaimed.

"It sounded like…glass breaking." Percy said, his eyes widening. "That's it. I'm going in."

He slammed his shoulder, hard, against the door repeatedly until the bolt weakened. Annabeth kicked the door open and they burst inside.

What Annabeth saw in that bathroom would haunt her for the rest of her life.

* * *

*****A/N: Ugh, bad chapter. I wrote it at midnight, so please excuse the quality.**

**To ChaserMoonstone: Yes, I have read Divergent. And I agree, it's amazing. :)**

**To all my other lovely readers, how'd you like that cliffie and Keaton's POV? Awful? Amazing? Let me know by reviewing!**

**Also, which POV do you guys want next time? Leila, Percy, or Annabeth?**


	46. Leila Breaks Percy's Nose - Twice

**Leila's POV**

"Um, yeah! I'm just..." - Leila fumbled for an excuse - "...brushing my teeth!"

_Annabeth may be an annoying imbecile, but she's not going to fall for that. _Aliel chided.

Proving Aliel's point, Annabeth's exasperated voice came through the door: "It's the middle of the day!"

"I'm one of those people who brush their teeth at weird times. Please go away." Leila said, gritting her teeth through the pain.

Annabeth's voice faded away, and she heard muffled conversation - probably with Percy.

The agony subsided a little, and she stood up shakily. She studied her reflection critically and chanted to herself, "Just breath. It's going to be fine."

Aliel appeared, stepping out of the shower door gracefully and slamming Leila's face against the sink. Leila swung her leg back, but Aliel was impossibly fast, laughing wildly and weaving through her punches.

"You realize that even if you do hit me, you'll just end up hurting yourself?" Aliel said lightly. "My, my. You don't listen very well, do you?"

Leila slid to the floor helplessly and stared at the floor. Aliel swooped down and grabbed her by the hair, hoisting her to her feet. "Look at yourself!" Aliel cackled. "Look at your reflection!"

"No." Leila snarled.

"Do. _It_." Aliel commanded, no longer smiling.

Realizing that she had no choice, Leila slowly raised her head and saw her face as it usually was - with her scared green eyes and straight black hair. But as she looked longer, her eyes gradually turned golden and her face became harder, more beautiful. Her hair curled and grew longer, reaching her waist.

She was morphing into Aliel.

"NO!" Leila screamed in fury and punched the glass, cracking the image. She slammed her bloody fist against it again and again until the mirror lay in shattered pieces.

"Pity." Aliel said softly. "I thought it suited you."

Leila grabbed a long shard of glass and slashed it against Aliel's perfect face. "I will not become you! You evil, fucking -"

_Slam! _The door burst open. Percy and Annabeth stumbled inside, and their eyes widened in unison at what they saw.

"Well. I'll just leave you three, then." Aliel giggled. "Mark my words, you'll look like me before the end of the summer."

"I'm not finished with you!" Leila yelled. She smacked Aliel's face and grabbed her throat, squeezing tightly.

She felt her own airways blocking, but she was too angry to care.

"Leila! Leila, stop!" Percy grabbed her arms and secured them behind her back.

"Let - go - of - me!" Leila growled. "She's getting away! She's getting -"

"There's no one in here, Leila." Annabeth said quietly. "I think you just need to -"

"She's right there! She's _right there!_" Leila shouted, freeing one of her hands and pointing at Aliel's smug face.

"They can't see me." Aliel sang, backing out of the bathroom. She twirled out of the doorway and waved.

Leila drew back her elbow and bashed it in Percy's face.

"OUCH!" Percy yelled, freeing Leila.

She sprinted after Aliel and demanded, "What do you want? What do you want from me?"

Aliel smiled and leaned against her bunk. "I want to drive you off the edge. To make you regret you ever joined forces with Camp Half-Blood. To make your _dear brother _and the leaders of this camp regret that you ever joined them. If you beg for Kronos' mercy -"

"_Never._" Leila hissed.

" - and fight for him next summer, then I swear on the River Styx that I will leave you forever." Aliel continued. "It's your choice."

"I'd rather die than join Kronos again." Leila said heatedly.

"You have spirit, Brooke. But what I will do to you will _break_ you." Aliel promised with a wicked gleam in her golden eyes. "Nothing you can do will get rid of me. _Nothing_."

With a final smirk, Aliel disappeared.

* * *

**Annabeth's POV**

Leila swayed unsteadily on the spot and said furiously, "You let her get away! You just…stood there and did nothing! Didn't you hear what she said?"

She clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles turned white, and she shook with anger. "You don't care." Leila said in a voice that wasn't her own. "You _don't care_! Aliel's right. You're just using me."

She made a move to the door, but Percy beat her to it and tackled her to the floor. Leila punched his face, but he pinned her hands to the floor and ordered, "You need to calm down!"

After a few minutes of struggling, she gave up and said gruffly, "Okay. Okay! You can get off me."

Percy stood up and offered Leila his hand. She took it reluctantly and hauled herself to her feet.

"You pack a heavy punch." Percy said, pinching his bloody nose. "But the fighting's over. Tell me what's going on."

She glared at him and said, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Annabeth exchanged looks with Percy. Leila must have noticed, because she grabbed Percy's shoulders and said forcefully, "She wants you to think I'm crazy. Do I look crazy to you? _Do I_?"

When Percy didn't respond – it was pretty hard to do with a bleeding nose – Leila turned to Annabeth. "Please don't kick me out. I can help, I can! She's making you think that I can't handle myself. But I can fight her, and I can win!"

Annabeth personally thought that Leila was actually going insane, and she could tell that Percy was thinking the same thing, because he glanced at Annabeth sideways and shook his head a little. He turned to Leila and steered her over to a bunk.

"To be perfectly honest, you are sounding a little crazy right now." Percy said in such a frank voice that Annabeth wanted to smack him. He added gently, "You need to explain what's wrong, or we can't help you."

Leila stared at him and calmed down a little. She wrapped her arms around her legs and admitted, "I _feel _crazy right now. She's...she's trying to make me feel that way."

"Who is this girl you keep talking about?" Annabeth said, sitting down next to Leila.

Leila's breathing rate increased. "I should have told you the whole story from the beginning. Mother of Kronos, I'm so _stupid_, I can't -"

"It doesn't matter." Annabeth said firmly. "Just tell us who she is."

Leila looked at her carefully. "Her name is Aliel. She works for Kronos, and she's absolutely unstoppable."

Annabeth felt herself gasping now and then against her will as Leila described the girl who lived inside her mind - the girl who made every day a living hell for her. She talked about how when she tried to hurt Aliel, she would get wounded while Aliel would seem unaffected. She specified the different powers that Aliel had - her unbelievable strength, speed, and most importantly: her ability to control time.

"Gods, did she do this to you?" Annabeth asked quietly, touching Leila's face, which was cut in every way imaginable.

Leila nodded.

"No more of the Kronos possession episodes, then?" Percy asked.

Leila shook her head and said darkly, "At least I could fight Kronos. Aliel is my alter-ego; she has no weaknesses."

They were silent for a long time. Annabeth realized that what Percy had said earlier was a lie. They really couldn't do anything to help her except to defeat Kronos - which was next to impossible.

"So she's been talking nonstop to you then? For the past few days?" Annabeth said.

"Almost nonstop." Leila corrected. "She says she loses power in the presence of people I -" She gasped so loudly that Percy jumped and banged his head against the top of the bunk. "Ow!" he complained, rubbing his noggin.

"What?" Annabeth said excitedly, ignoring Percy's groans.

"Gods, why didn't I think of - she could influence my actions whenever I was angry, and she always hurt me whenever I was alone, right? So all I have to do is -"

"Be happy all the time and surround yourselves with friends?" Annabeth shook her head. "It's not possible to do that 24/7."

"I know. But I have to try." Leila sighed. "Sorry about the bathroom, by the way."

Percy waved his hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter. Hephaestus' cabin can fix it up in no time."

"And sorry about your nose."

"'Sokay. I never liked it anyway."

Leila laughed, and Annabeth felt her lips curving into a smile.

Things felt right for a moment - but they were demigods. It would only last for a little while.

* * *

*****A/N: Woohoo! 250 reviews! **

**ChaserMoonstone: I was thinking about writing Divergent fanfics, but no inspirational ideas have come to me yet. I'll definitely write some in the future, though.**

**How'd you guys like that chapter? And what do you want to happen in the next update? Let me know by reviewing!**


	47. Leila Turns 13

**Leila's POV**

Mercifully, the next week passed by without much trouble. Leila would rotate through activities and teach campers sword fighting, archery, and battle tactics. She'd hang out with Keaton during free time and eat meals with Percy and Tyson. Her mom was engaged to her boyfriend of seven years. The campers were becoming friendlier towards her. No one looked twice at her tattoos anymore. And Charles Beckendorf even made her a pair of glasses when he heard that she was mildly farsighted.

Everything was...too perfect.

She felt tense, like at any moment, something bad was going to happen, and she was going to be held responsible.

Aliel had been keeping strangely quiet, which bothered Leila. What happened to the endless insults, the nonstop torture?

The thing was that from the day Leila discovered Aliel's weakness, Percy and Annabeth suddenly made it their life's goal to make sure that Leila was never alone and always happy.

Whenever she tried to have some alone time and go off into the woods or to the beach, Percy would insist to tag along, or if Annabeth thought she wasn't looking, she would whip on her invisibility hat and follow her.

They were protecting her. And she loved them for it. They were her family now.

She smiled to herself as she punched her pillow into shape. She was just starting to flap out her blankets and somewhat make her bed when a voice said behind her, "My, you're growing up fast, aren't you?"

Leaning against the dresser was a gorgeous woman with short, playful blond hair, violet eyes, and flawless skin. She was wearing a short red dress, revealing the longest legs Leila had ever seen.

"You - you just appeared. Out of nowhere. Who - ?" Leila stuttered.

"I've been watching you for quite a while now. I am Aphrodite. Goddess of love."

"Um...hi." Leila said weakly. The only other god she'd met was Mr. D, and he definitely hadn't looked as impressive as Aphrodite. "Why - why are you here?"

"To wish you a happy birthday, of course!" Aphrodite said with a glint in her eye. Leila knew that the goddess was lying. Gods don't just drop by to wish you happy birthday. They come because they want you to do stuff for them. "You've turned 16, yes?"

"13." Leila corrected.

"Whatever. My point is, you're finally on the market!" Aphrodite squealed.

Leila stepped back. "I'm on the _what_?"

"You're single! Available!" Aphrodite clapped her hands together in excitement. "I'm going to have _such fun _with you!"

"Hang on. You came all the way here from Mount Olympus to tell me that I should _date _someone?" Leila said angrily. "Don't you have better things to do?"

Aphrodite idly picked up Riptide from the dresser, and twirled the pen between her fingers daintily.

"I always visit daughters of Poseidon when they come of age. They have such _tragic _love lives. I simply_ had _to visit you: you're the first to be born in a long time. Just the other day, I was telling another daughter of Poseidon - Joan of Arc I think it was -"

"Joan of Arc never married." Leila reminded her. "And I don't think she was ever interested in men."

"Exactly my point!" Aphrodite said triumphantly. "And look what became of her! Dead at 19! Simply _heartbreaking_."

"I don't need a boyfriend." Leila insisted. "I'm perfectly capable of -"

"Oh, but you will." Aphrodite said mysteriously. "Several boys in your future love life, now that's just...delicious."

"Uh, I don't think so."

"Come now, Leila." Aphrodite chided. "You're powerful, intelligent, and beautiful. You really think that no one fancies you?"

Leila caught her reflection in the mirror behind Aphrodite and winced. She hated the stringy black hair which always got in her eyes, the ugly tattoos on her neck and arms, the acne that her bangs hid, her bony shoulders...everything.

Aphrodite must sensed her discomfort, because she laughed a little. "Beauty isn't just about good looks, demigod. Look at your brother, Percy. He may be handsome, but it's his sense of truth, justice, and loyalty which makes him appealing."

"That doesn't sound like something you would say."

"It doesn't, does it?" Aphrodite said sadly. "The ideals which I stand for have been warped over the centuries - makeup, jewelry, fashion - all of that has distorted the mortals' perception of attractiveness. The fact that you have suffered so much, and still insist to stand with the gods -" She touched Leila's tattoos lightly. "Now that's beautiful."

"I -" Leila choked. "I - why are you telling me all of this?"

"Soon, _very soon_, you will face something that will make you question and hate yourself. Your confidence will go down the drain. You will go mad with self-loathing. I don't want that happening to you."

"Because I'm _on the market_?" Leila said bitterly, repeating Aphrodite's words earlier.

"No, because you're important. I can read your emotions, you know. You think you're insignificant. You think you're a burden. Of course you're important, silly. You always have been."

Leila felt a lump rise in her throat, and her vision was momentarily blurred with tears. She didn't get compliments like that too often - and she definitely hadn't expected one from the love goddess.

"Keep an eye on that son of Hades, will you?" Aphrodite winked at her and disappeared, leaving behind a faint scent of roses and perfume.

* * *

**Nico's POV**

Nico was exhausted. He'd spent the last week in the Underworld, doing the usual: making inquiries about the River Styx, talking to ghosts, and listening to his father rant about those "no good dirty rotten children of Poseidon making trouble and stealing all of the glory."

He needed to take a breather. He needed to see a friend.

Nico shadowtravelled to the place he had in mind and overshot a little, ending up on the roof of Cabin Three.

"Poseidon's going to _kill _me." he muttered as he regained his balance. He heard a scream and turned to see Leila perched on the roof, her mouth open in surprise. She recovered enough to yell at him: "Forget Poseidon, _I'm _going to kill you first! Gods, Nico! You just love popping up out of nowhere and scaring the living daylights out of people, don't you?"

"Hey, I don't do it on _purpose_!" Nico said, raising his hands in defense."Shadowtravelling's unpredictable!"

Leila glared at him for a few seconds, then huffed, "Fine. Since I'm in a good mood today, I won't hurt you."

"Got it." He sat down next to her and added, "What are you doing?"

If Nico hadn't known better, he would have thought that Leila was blushing a little. But she bent her head over the scroll again and responded, "Fixing this battle map."

Nico squinted at the tiny print and said, "How can you even _read _that?"

"I can't." she admitted. "That's why I have these." She whipped out a pair of glasses and put them on her face.

"You wear glasses? Wow. Never met a demigod who wore glasses."

Leila shoved them higher on her nose and sighed. "Most don't. Except for...you know. George Washington and all those famous people."

"You should wear them more often. You actually look _smart_." Nico said in mock amazement.

"Oh, shut up." Leila shoved his shoulder, which nearly sent him toppling off the cabin. "Beckendorf was nice enough to make them for me."

She adjusted them again and continued reading. Nico privately thought that she looked cute in them, but he'd rather die than say that aloud.

"How was the Underworld?" she asked, fiddling with her pencil.

"Oh, you know. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. The people were screaming from eternal damna-"

"Nico, be serious!" Leila said, laughing.

"Okay, okay. I went to investigate some stuff and...I found out that you were right about the river."

"Ha!" she yelled, pumping her fist.

"I also found out that it was your birthday today." Nico said, frowning at her. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"How'd you know it was my birthday?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I talked to your great-aunt's ghost."

"Dude, that's _creepy_. Did you seriously track down all of my dead relative's ghosts and ask them when my birthday was?"

"Hey, it was an accident!" Nico said, flushing under her shocked gaze. "I was just in the Fields of Asphodel, minding my own business, when – "

"Alright, I believe you." Leila interrupted, returning to her map. "Don't get into the details about my great aunt. She was crazy."

"I'll say." he muttered in agreement.

Percy's head popped up from the other side of the roof.

Nico yelled and scrambled backwards. "Holy Zeus, how long have you been there?"

Leila rolled her eyes. "Percy's been here the entire time. You just haven't noticed. He thinks that I'm going to fall off the roof."

Percy smiled hugely, obviously enjoying himself. "Yup. And if you guys are done flirting, then I'd be happy to take that map back."

Leila threw the map at his face and said, "We were _not _flirting. Now go away."

"Just because you've turned thirteen doesn't mean you're the boss." Percy said childishly, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Do you want me to break your nose again?" she threatened. Percy's eyes widened and he climbed down the cabin in record speed.

"Sorry about that." Leila rested her head against the tiles. The peace and quiet was disturbed by what sounded like a drill and electric saw coming to life.

Nico stuck his head over the edge and saw Hephaestus campers milling in and out of Poseidon's cabin, carrying nails, hammers, and other construction equipment.

"What's going on down there?" Nico asked curiously.

Leila's face fell, making him sorry that he'd asked. "Aliel and I destroyed the bathroom." she said glumly.

Aliel was causing trouble _again_?

He masked his concern with a cheery, "Well, that's not too bad! At least you didn't destroy the entire cabin."

"Very inspiring, Nico." Leila said sarcastically. She swung her legs over the edge and hopped off the roof easily. Nico gulped at the height and chose to shadow travel to the bottom instead.

"Wimp." Leila commented when he appeared in the shade of a nearby tree.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

"I don't like heights, okay?" Nico said defensively.

"Me too." Leila admitted. "But generally from an airplane, and not from a seven foot tall cabin."

Nico rolled his eyes.

"Where are you going to go after this?" she asked curiously.

"Where else? The Underworld again, I guess." Nico said moodily.

_Protect him. _

"No, you won't." Leila said firmly. "Do you know what's happening tomorrow?"

"What?"

"It's the fourth of July! Come on, you can't miss the fireworks."

Nico scowled. "I'll pass. I don't like seeing all those couples making out at the same time. It makes me nauseous."

"There's a spot I found in which you don't have to see all of those people. Please? For me?" Leila took off her glasses and smiled at him.

He sighed loudly and grumbled, "Fine."

As they began to walk towards the forest, Leila saw a movement from the corner of her eye. She turned her head, and the wispy figure of Bianca di Angelo appeared next to her.

Bianca touched her face and whispered, "_Thank you._"

* * *

****A/N: Oh my god, guys. I have no idea what to do. You know how authors say that the characters they write about aren't under their control? That's what's happening to me right now, because before, I was going to pair Leila with Leo later, but she's getting closer to Nico and I can't stop it! What do you guys want?**

**Also, how'd you like this chapter? Let me know by reviewing!**


	48. Fireworks

**Nico's POV**

Nico knew he was in trouble as soon as Leila walked out of the cabin. He himself hadn't worn anything fancy for the fireworks - just a black T-shirt and jeans. Plus, he had actually bothered to brush his hair, which he didn't do for just anyone.

Leila, on the other hand, was wearing makeup.

Nico had never seen her wear makeup, except for the hardcore black eyestuff she had on when she was in Kronos' army. This time, though, it was different. Whatever she had put on her face brought out the different shades of green in her eyes and made her lips cherry red. Her long hair was twisted and tied in an intricate braid, falling over her right shoulder.

"Wow." Nico said, blinking rapidly. "You look...amazing. I mean, you already did, before the makeup, but -"

Leila frowned. "Makeup? I'm not wearing makeup."

"What?"

He must have looked pretty shocked, because she rubbed her face in concern and came away with some powdery stuff.

"I didn't put this on." she scowled.

Nico shifted his vision so that he could only see auras instead of just physical bodies. Leila's aura should have looked its normal blue-green, but this time, it had been corrupted by...by...

"Aphrodite." Nico spit. "You've been blessed by Aphrodite."

He hadn't had such a good experience with that goddess. She'd once especially visited him to tell him that she couldn't "bear to see such a handsome young face covered with all that hair" and "that fashion choice! Dear, where _do _you buy your clothes from?".He'd wanted to throttle her, but that probably wouldn't have been the right thing to do to a love goddess.

"She's such a hypocrite." Leila said, glaring at her fingers. "First she says that makeup isn't _important _to becoming attractive, but then she curses me with magic -"

"Hang on, you were visited by her too?"

She didn't say anything, but her blush confirmed his suspicions. He shook his head in disappointment.

"Whatever." Leila shrugged. "Let's go to the secret spot."

It was getting dark, so by mutual agreement they drew their swords for some light. Leila forged ahead and they ended up...at the back of Cabin Three.

Nico was confused. He was pretty sure the beach was the other way. "Why are we here?" he asked.

"Wait and see." Leila said, smiling mysteriously. She ran her fingers across the wood and pressed her fingers against a spot that seemed older than the rest of the building - a tiny engraving of a trident. At first, nothing happened, but then a winding path appeared, snaking off into the forest.

"That's cool." Nico admitted as they sprinted into the woods. "Is Percy coming?"

"Nah. Annabeth asked him to the fireworks last week, and I didn't want it being too crowded."

"_And_ you haven't told him about it." Nico guessed.

"True."

She skidded to a stop in front of a tree so tall that even craning his head, Nico couldn't quite see the top.

"Check this out." she said, touching the trunk of the tree. A ladder unfurled itself from who-knows-where. Just as Leila grabbed the first rung, Nico had to ask: "Wait. Is this place safe?"

Leila grinned at him. "It's been safe for hundreds of years."

He wasn't sure what she meant by that, but he followed her up.

Near the top of the tree was a sight that made Nico catch his breath. They had reached a sort of a rough observation deck - made entirely out of wood - that offered an incredible view of the entire stretch of the beach. There was no railing, so Nico got dizzy looking over the edge. Carved into the floor were the names of other children of Poseidon who had also discovered the place. Nico knelt and traced his fingers over the names: Churchill...Hemingway...Magellan (though Nico had no idea how his got there).

"Awesome, right?" Leila said, her face glowing eerily from the bronze light of her sword.

"How'd you even find this place?" Nico said, dazed.

"A dream." she said simply.

"But why would you show me and not Percy?"

"I don't think Percy...would be able to see it." Leila said hesitantly. She tapped her finger against the tree. "Read this."

Nico studied the intricate inscription that he hadn't noticed before:

_A place hidden but to the one_

_Who is the loneliest among them all_

_Use it well, child of the sea god_

_As others have guarded it before you._

Nico understood it immediately. Percy was anything but lonely, he was popular - one of the major leaders of Camp Half-Blood. He had tons of friends and the favor of the gods. No matter what Leila did, she would never be completely accepted by the camp or by the gods. Simply because she was daughter of Poseidon.

Leila was watching him carefully. "That's why only you and I can see it."

Nico opened his mouth to respond, when - _boom! _An explosion of color painted the dark sky.

"It's starting!" she said. She leaned against the tree and gazed at the sky. Nico sat next to her, still bothered by the inscription. He forced himself to look up.

The sky glowed with tightly knit images of Odysseus fighting a Cyclops, the original Perseus riding on Pegasus, George Washington crossing the Delaware River, and the Beatles performing on stage. Leila pointed out people who Nico didn't even know were demigods - Abraham Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, Marilyn Monroe.

"How do they do it?" she said, awed.

"When Athena and Hephaestus' cabin collaborate, they can do practically anything." Nico responded.

"How do you know so much about the camp? I mean, you barely come here at all."

Nico twisted his ring. "I talk to ghosts of past campers, remember?"

Leila furrowed her eyebrows. "Why hear about it in the Underworld when you can come and experience it for yourself?"

He considered her question for a few moments. She had a good point, but..."I don't belong here. I'm a son of Hades. The campers are too scared to even look at me."

"That was true for me a while ago." she countered. "But you don't see me spending all my time in Poseidon's kingdom, talking to dolphins."

"It's _different _for you!" Nico said, becoming angrier. "You and Percy - your father's honored in this camp! I don't even have a cabin to call my own!"

Leila's eyes flashed. "You go without human contact for weeks on end. You talk to people who have been _dead _for thousands of years."

"What do you care? It's none of your business! I never question what you -"

"God dammit, Nico! Bianca told me to protect you!"

Her words hung in the air. She glared at him, silently daring him to challenge her.

"Bianca...?" he choked. "She spoke to you?"

"Yes." she said quietly. "I promised her I would watch out for you."

Nico blinked tears out of his eyes. Leila entwined her fingers with his and said gently, "She loves you."

"I know."

He took a deep breath and looked at the sky again. The last firework exploded - an image of the American flag, bringing the show to an end.

Nico reluctantly glanced at Leila, then looked closer. Something was happening with her...he took out his sword and stuck it in front of her face to see better.

"Whoa!" she yelled. "What's that for?"

"The blessing of Aphrodite." he muttered. "It's fading. Probably a two hour thing."

As he stared at Leila longer, her makeup slowly faded. Her braid loosened and unwound itself. Her fancy clothes shimmered and disappeared, revealing what she had probably worn previously - a camp shirt over shorts.

"Why did Aphrodite visit you?" Nico said, in an attempt to take the subject off of his dead sister.

She wrinkled her nose, playing along. "Girly stuff."

"Come on, you can tell me." he persisted, curious now.

She stood up and offered him her hand. "I'm not so sure. She just...said she always visited kids of Poseidon. As a coming-of-age thing."

Nico hauled himself up and raised an eyebrow at her. "That's all?"

The tips of her ears turned pink. "Of course not. But I'm not telling _you_. Girly stuff, remember?"

She drew her dagger and held it out for light before Nico could say anything else. "We should be heading back now."

* * *

**Leila's POV**

Leila said her goodbyes to Nico and jogged to her cabin. She opened the door and found Percy twirling Riptide with a strange smile on his face.

"What's up?" she said.

His head jerked up. "Oh. Uh, nothing."

She punched his arm and said, "Had a good time with Annabeth?"

Percy turned red at her tone and mumbled, "Yeah. It was nice."

"Didja kiss?" she asked, leaning against his bunk.

"Gods, Leila!"

"Just asking."

Leila turned to the mirror hanging above the dresser and tied her hair back.

Percy threw a pillow at her with unnecessary force. She picked it up and was about to slam it over his head, when she heard something.

The voice. The voice she dreaded, the voice she foolishly hoped had gone forever, the voice which drove her mad with fear.

The pillow dropped with a soft thud on the floor.

"What's wrong?" Percy said.

The voice came slowly, then hammered relentlessly at her mind, a string of insults and curses that could not be ignored.

"She's coming." Leila said in a tight voice.

She was vaguely aware of Percy warily approaching her, holding out his hands like he was expecting her to collapse.

_You thought I was gone? Ha. Wishful thinking. _Leila could almost hear the smirk in Aliel's voice.

"What took you so long?" Leila said through gritted teeth.

_Just a late birthday present I was working on. You've turned 13, correct?_

"Shut up."

_Big milestone, living this long. Especially for you. This calls for a makeover. _

Fire arced Leila's back and she gasped, "What are you doing?"

_Look in the mirror. Maybe you'll find out. _

Leila raised her head and a strangled cry escaped her throat. Her deep green eyes were beginning to lighten, taking on a strange golden color. She let out a long, high-pitched scream as the evil gold completely overtook her green irises. Her fingers glowed and yellow wisps curled off her palms. Time slowed down. Percy was frozen - his mouth still open in shock.

_The power of Time. _Aliel mused._ You should be grateful._ _Happy Birthday, Leila._

* * *

*****A/N: Yeah, I know. I'm evil. Sorry. **

**How'd you like the Nico/Leila fluff? Aliel? Let me know by reviewing!**

**And what do _you _want to happen next?**


	49. Kidnapped

**Leila's POV**

Leila slammed her sword into the dummy furiously, causing straw to explode and fall in a messy circle around the beheaded figure. She twirled and stabbed the one on the left.

She caught her reflection in her sword and idly observed that her eyes had returned to their normal green - she had already figured out that they only turned gold when she used her ability to influence time - an ability she could not control.

News travelled fast at camp. By the time Leila had gotten up in the morning, everyone knew what had happened.

What she had become.

Percy knew better than to follow her when she skipped breakfast and headed straight for the arena. She imagined that her problems were as easy to get rid of as the straw dummies. She picked up a javelin and threw it at one of their heads.

_Thunk._ That was for her stupid golden eyes.

_Thunk._ That was for Kronos trying to take over the world.

_Thunk._ Having the same powers as the Titan.

_Thunk._ Chiron's words, dripping in lies. His sympathetic _there there_'s and _it's going to be fine_'s.

_Thunk_. Aliel fucking up everything.

Before she knew it, she was surrounded by shredded cloth and fallen straw. She breathed heavily, and became irritated when a scared camper - son of Hermes by his looks - scampered into the arena.

"What?" Leila snapped.

"Mr-mr. D's calling you. S-something important." the Hermes kid said, his eyes twitching nervously.

"Great." she growled, throwing down her javelin and storming out.

As she walked towards the Big House, she barely noticed the significant looks the campers were passing to each other, the weapons being sharpened, or the loose battle formation grouping around her.

Big mistake.

About ten steps from the Big House, someone suddenly slammed her into the floor. Before she could recover, another had bound her hands behind her back. She started to yell and they stuffed a gag in her mouth. A gruff voice belonging to Clarisse la Rue whispered in her ear, "We've got weapons pointing at you in every direction possible, so don't even try to escape." A bandana was tied around her eyes.

Then she was being lifted, carried somewhere, somewhere far away. Ignoring Clarisse's warning, she fought like crazy, but whoever was holding her was strong. Eventually the blindfold was ripped from her face and she was tossed onto a musty wooden floor. She hadn't realized it, but not just a few campers had done this. Dozens of them had their weapons drawn, and they were backing away from her quickly. A few brave souls snapped celestial bronze manacles around her wrists and ankles before scrambling towards the exit. Leila had just gotten to her knees when Aliel appeared in the doorway.

"Chained like a dog." she sneered.

The door swung shut, a key turned in a lock, and Leila was left in complete darkness.

* * *

Leila gave a cry of fury that was muffled by the gag. She tried to run towards the door, but only ended up tripping over a pile of chains and falling on her face. For a while she continued to yell but eventually gave that up as well. There was no sound outside her cell. If there were guards - and there probably were - they were silent and unresponsive. She slumped against the wall and tried to control herself. A weird sensation she hadn't felt in a while began to brew in her the moment the door swung shut. She felt out of control, and couldn't stop herself from making growls of frustration.

From wanting to kill someone.

"Calm down," she ordered herself. "Calm down!"

She took deep breaths, trying to assess her situation. She went over the kidnapping again in her mind and suddenly realized that she could've easily stopped time and escaped.

"Stupid." she muttered. "So damn stupid!"

With difficulty, she put that revelation aside and focused on her current state of affairs.

Step one: She needed to get her hands free. For some bizzare reason, they hadn't taken the sword hanging from her side - probably because it was a normal, mortal sword that couldn't do much harm.

Leila scooted her foot along the wall until she came to a corner. She inched her sword belt around so that the weapon was behind her. She wedged the point of the sword into the corner of the floor and sawed through her bonds in a matter of minutes. Oddly enough, her sword, though very sharp, couldn't cut through the chains or manacles, meaning that she required a celestial bronze sword instead of her mortal one. The chains allowed her to have a certain degree of movement, though, so she cut through her gag and flung it away. She could scream now for real. But she didn't bother.

It was pitch black. They hadn't left her with anything. The door fit so tightly into the walls around it that not even the faintest shaft of light leaked through the edges.

Leila inhaled and exhaled for a few moments, concentrating hard. She stretched her hand forward. Her fingers began to tingle. A wisp of golden energy finally came to life, dancing across her palm.

She herself was unaffected, but she knew that if anyone else was in the room with her, they would've felt their face freeze up and their limbs immobilize. She would've never used this power under normal circumstances, but she was desperate for some form of light. She squinted at her surroundings.

She was in a twenty by twenty cell that was completely bare save for a thin mat and a tiny bathroom on the opposite side. There was no food, no water, and no furniture.

Why had the campers done this? Why had they gone to the extreme of locking Leila up and risking the wrath of the strongest demigods at Camp Half-Blood? Probably because she was so dangerous right now that she could potentially go insane from the amount of power she had.

She wouldn't be surprised if Mr. D was behind this. He had always hated her - possibly more than Percy. Or maybe...it was Aliel. Leila was the only one who could see her, but that didn't stop her from whispered malicious words in the other campers' ears, encouraging them to betray Leila.

_Very intelligent_. Aliel crooned from a small corner of her mind._ I was afraid for a moment that you actually think that drunk excuse of a wine god would come up with something a brilliant as this!_

Leila ignored her, though her hands shook from anger. She had this unsettling feeling that now no one but Clarisse and those campers knew where she was. Who else would know? Who would come to her aid? Nico...but Nico barely came around. It could either be a day or a month before he swung by again - you could never tell with him. Percy would think that she needed some time by herself. Annabeth and Keaton would think she had taken off and run away. Her mom hadn't seen her in such a long time anyway.

She shivered a bit. It was really cold down here. Underground, maybe? She huddled in a corner trying to stay warm.

Hours passed. She was hungry and exhausted. She stared at Aliel, who was randomly appearing in the room, smirking and laughing at her. Eventually Leila fell into a kind of a stupor, not fully awake but not quite asleep either. And in her state, visions of the worst parts of her life began to replay in her mind.

Kronos burning the mark of his scythe into her skin. Her former friends torturing her at the Titans' base camp, punishing her for helping Percy. Feeling utterly helpless as her arms moved against her will, brandishing a sword and pointing it at Keaton's chest.

She finally went to sleep, curled up in a ball, the chains cutting into her limbs. Nico wove in and out of her dreams, laughing at one of her corny jokes, sitting peacefully next to her in their secret spot, leaning against a tree in the forest and patiently listening to her woes.

Her dreams changed to nightmares, and she saw the nature god Pan dying, dissolving into mist; Luke as Kronos, striking down Percy, his mouth curved into a smirk; the Empire State Building falling, the bridge from Olympus to America dissolving. She woke with a start, her forehead beaded with sweat, in time to hear the door in her cell slam shut.

Stiff and aching, she crawled towards the sound. Her right hand fell into a plate of something. Pizza? No, bread. A mug of water. Famished, she downed the meal in a matter of a few seconds. She could have eaten ten times as much, but at least it stopped the hunger pangs in her stomach.

Leila felt the darkness pressing down on her, making her feel a little crazy. She willed her fingers to spark to life again. But it was no good. No good. She couldn't wish herself out of this horrible dark hole in who-knows-where, or magically summon someone to help her get out of here. Unless...

"Dad?" she asked, her voice an inaudible croak. She cleared her throat a little and repeated, "Dad. Uh, hi there. How's its going?"

Feeling completely stupid, she continued weakly, "Yeah. So, now would be a great time for you to...you know. Use your godly powers to bust me out?"

She waited hopefully, but no magical sign came out of the sky. No glowing trident. Nothing.

Thoroughly disgruntled, Leila slumped against the wall again. Nothing to do except experiment with her new powers a bit. She spread both her hands out in front of her and willed the golden light to go a little farther than her fingertips. She watched in delight as the light obliged, beaming across the room and weaving itself around her chains. When she twisted her hand a little, the energy arced along the floor, bending itself against the ground. She stood up and did that for a while, testing what she could do. After a couple of hours, she rested her head against the floor, her mind electrified by the power of Time. Her forehead beaded with sweat from the exertion. She was no longer cold anymore.

Her preoccupation with her newfound skill kept her from going nuts. Kept her from breaking down and begging the guards to let her out. She knew she couldn't let Aliel win. She had to leave this cell as uninfluenced by her as she had entered it, or she would look insane to the others.

She started formulating an escape plan. Someone was going to have to open that door again to feed her. And when they did she would be ready. But how would she unlock these chains? How would she - what was that?

Leila flattened herself against the wall a few feet from the place where the door opened. In this position, she figured she would have a couple of seconds to attack her guards, steal the key, and somehow break out. But something was confusing her. She could hear voices outside:

"Who's in there? What're you hiding?"

"Sorry, man. Strictly confidential stuff. Can't have you going in there."

The voices turned into a hushed conversation, and Leila couldn't quite catch the words this time:

"Crazy, can't believe -"

"Too dangerous, way more than before -"

"Did you see the way -"

"Yes, but that doesn't justify-"

The lock turned in the key and the door swung open.

Standing in the doorway was Nico di Angelo.

* * *

**Nico's POV**

"Leila, it's me. Put down your sword."

Leila remained in place, her weapon out and ready. Her green eyes looked fevered, and she looked unsteady on her feet.

"I'm okay in here." she said, not moving.

Nico clenched his hands into fists, and said through gritted teeth, "Come. Out. _Now_."

"No."

He shut his eyes tightly and tried to control his anger. "How about I come inside for a few minutes and talk to you? Would _that _be okay?"

Leila considered it for a few moments. "Fine." she said. "But shut the door behind you."

Nico sighed and motioned to the guards that it was okay. He slammed the door behind him and wondered why she was having trust issues with him all of a sudden.

"I knew this would happen eventually." he said, fingering the chains which restricted Leila's movement. "Though not to this extreme."

"Then why don't you break me out?" she said sharply.

Nico slashed his Stygian Iron sword through her chains, freeing her hands and legs. She muttered a thanks and rubbed her wrists to get some circulation back in them.

For someone who had disappeared for such a long time, she didn't exactly look overjoyed at seeing him, though he certainly was.

"How'd you find me?" she asked.

"I had a dream about it and came straight here. Gods, Leila, you've been in here for _seven days_."

She stared at him. "What? It's only been a few hours!"

He shook his head. "No. Percy and Annabeth have been worried sick about you. They went out looking for you, and didn't think to look in the camp itself."

Leila wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. She studied her hands and mumbled, "I sped up time. I didn't even realize I was doing it. I was just experimenting with my powers and -"

"Wait a moment, you _sped up time_?"

"Yeah. That's why it's been a few hours for me and a few days for you."

"Well, I get that, but where did you get powers like that from?"

"Aliel." she said darkly. "She'd gone silent on me for a while, said she was working on something 'major' for my birthday. In other words, she gave me her powers and somehow managed to convince a few dozen campers to get rid of me."

He sat back on his haunches, and tried to absorb this new information. Leila touched his arm gently. Her eyes glowed golden for just a second, and then she collapsed.

* * *

**Leila's POV**

"_Aliel." Leila said darkly. "She'd gone silent on me for a while, said she was working on something 'major' for my birthday. In other words, she gave me her powers and somehow managed to convince a few dozen campers to get rid of me." _

_Nico sat back and looked at her in awe. Leila touched his arm, and an electric current ran up her fingertips. She gasped, and her vision went black._

When it cleared, she was standing in Times Square. Except...it wasn't the Times Square that she knew. No glowing billboards, no yellow Mcdonalds' arcs, no cars. It was jammed with people, cheering and celebrating, which was normal on New Years' but...but the people were dressed in old-timey clothing from the 1940's.

Women were sporting short hair and knee length dresses. Most men had button down shirts and were waving fedoras around in the air. A lot of the people glanced at her and wrinkled their nose at her clothing, but then turned their attention back to the crowd. A tiny boy was thrusting a newspaper in the air which had a big headline on it, reading in big bold letters: "VICTORY: NAZIS REVEAL SURRENDER TO WESTERN ALLIES".

"You're in 1945." said a voice from the crowd.

"What?"

The owner of the voice strolled out, coming into view. He was in his twenties, tall and lean, clad in a suit that was typical of the time period. A cigarette dangled from his lips. He look off his hat, revealing dark eyes and messy black hair. Handsome. Definitely handsome. Leila couldn't shake the feeling that she somehow knew the guy.

A slow smile crept along his face as he studied her. "Walk with me." he suggested.

She reluctantly complied, and caught up to his swift pace. "Where am I?"

He gracefully snagged a newspaper from the ground and unfolded it. He announced, "1945. New York City. The surrender of Germany in World War II."

For some reason, the dude didn't look too happy about the 'surrender of Germany' part.

"Yeah, I get that, but _how _did I end up here?"

"You've got the power of time. Anything's possible."

"Thanks for the brilliant explanation." Leila grumbled.

The guy drew in a long breath of cigarette smoke. "This isn't real, you know. _I'm_ not real. You're still in the 2000's, in a cell, deep underneath the Ares cabin at Camp Half-Blood. But you're different. You can literally _see _Time."

He stubbed out his cigarrette on an ash tray and continued, "If you wanted, you could take one look at a person and see their whole life line up to a certain point. It's different with your friend Nico. He's from the past, and his timeline's strictly forbidden from viewing. That's why you're here. You can see things that once were, what could have been, what _would _have been if certain things hadn't happened in his life."

"Wait, what do you mean he's _'from the past'_?"

The guy lifted his shoulders. "The kid was born in the 1920's, right? So the prime of his life would've been in the 40's."

"Then who are you?"

He grinned at her. "Why, I'm Nico, of course."

* * *

**A/N: This chapter and the last one was REALLY confusing, so let me sum it up for you:**

**Aliel wasn't talking to Leila for a while because she was trying to lull Leila into a sense of false security, and she was working on a way to give Leila the power to control Time. **

**Now, why on earth would Aliel give Leila such a large amount of power, you may ask?**

**Because according to my story, demigods can literally burn up if they have too much power in them. Unless Leila learns to control her new powers, and if she uses them for too long, it will destroy her and her mind...but she doesn't know that yet. Hahahaha. **

**When Leila touches someone, she can see their entire life up to the present. Because Hades has blocked Nico's timeline from view, Leila can only see what _could have been_, meaning that she saw 21 year old Nico the way he could have been, living in the 1940's, if his mom hadn't been killed by Zeus. ****Eventually, she'll learn how to see someone's timeline simply by looking at them. **

**Anyway, I borrowed a few ideas about the kidnapping of Leila from Suzanne Collins' _Gregor and the Code of Claw_, which is an EXCELLENT series I highly recommend.  
**

**I seriously need feedback. Did you like this super long, 3,000 word chapter? Was it too boring? What type of powers involving time do you want Leila to have? And do you want her to keep these powers until "The Last Olympian" and beyond? Let me know by reviewing! I love you guys!**


	50. Freedom?

**Leila's POV**

"_You're _Nico?" Leila wasn't sure she heard him right. "There must be a mistake. Nico's _skinny_. And-and he always wears that aviator jacket. And -"

1940's Nico chuckled and rubbed his annoyingly handsome face. "Don't worry, it gets better after fourteen." He snapped his fingers, and the crowd's cheers muffled. He snapped his fingers again, and a bench shimmered into existence to his right.

He ran his fingers through his hair and looked her over in a way that made her really self-conscious. "You're sticking out a little bit." Nico waved his hand, and Leila's ratty T-shirt and jeans turned into a blue knee-length dress. Her hair curled and shortened until it just brushed her shoulders. Her sneakers flickered and were replaced with fancy white flats.

Leila crossed her arms. "I did _not _give you permission to change my clothes."

"It's my timestream." Nico responded smugly. "I can do what I want."

She scowled at him some more and sat down. "So this isn't real? This is all happening inside my head?"

"It's...complicated." he said hesitantly. "This is all fake._ I'm_ fake. I never happened, and never will. But you can still see me."

"Will this happen with everyone? I mean, this whole timestream business. Will I see something like this everytime I touch someone?"

"No, just me. But demigods in general have such uncertain timelines that you can only see until the present. Mortals are much simpler."

Leila leaned forward. "How do I get rid of these powers?"

Nico raised one of his eyebrows. "Do you want to?"

"No. I mean, of course I do! It's...it's horrible to see into someone's past. Like, isn't there a law against that?"

"There are no laws when it comes to power." A hungry light came into Nico's eyes, something that Leila wasn't sure she liked too much. "You can do anything. You can bring the gods to their knees. You can -"

"Nico!" Leila snapped. "I don't want that! You know I don't."

He adjusted his tie. "Not now, maybe. But when you're up against Kronos' army, you will."

"It's a curse." she insisted.

"That's the way you see it now." he responded. "You'll enjoy it eventually."

Leila pursed her lips and didn't say anything else. This was the side of Nico she hated - the dark, power hungry side that he did his best to hide.

In a weak attempt to change the subject, she asked again, "You're not real?"

"Not real." Nico confirmed. "It's better this way, really. You know what would've happened if I had lived during this time period."

Leila actually didn't know. Somehow, she knew what to do. She reached out and touched Nico's forehead, concentrating hard. A flood of images entered her mind at a rapid fire pace.

She caught disconnected fragments of dialogue that Nico would have said in the 1930's and 40's:

_"America's just joined the war. Zeus' children never could stay out of a fight."_

_"What are your next orders, brother?"_

_"Just kill them all. Easy enough."_

_"Brother, I'm not going to say the Heil everytime you walk past. Even Hades says that it's ridiculous."_

17-year-old Nico at Hitler's side, discussing war strategies. Nico kneeling in front of Hades, swearing his loyalty. Nico shadow travelling and spying on British soldiers. Nico in Italy, observing one of Mussolini's rallies.

She drew her hand back abruptly and shook her head stubbornly. "You wouldn't do this. You wouldn't fight for Germany."

Nico looked at her somberly. "I'm not the Nico that you've come to know, Leila. _Your_ Nico would have been braver and defied Hades' orders. _Your_ Nico would have stood for what was right. I am loyal to my father until my final breath."

Leila glared at him. "Hitler killed millions of people. You...I can't believe you..."

"I never happened." Nico gently reminded her. "Don't let your opinion of me cloud that of the Nico you know."

Leila smoothed her skirt and stood up, bringing an air of finality to their conversation. She wasn't able to meet Nico's eyes.

He sighed heavily and got to his feet. He put his cool hand under her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"When you awaken, the guards will escort you out and put you in chains. Do not resist. They are testing you."

Leila nodded and turned away. "Take me back." she muttered.

Nico traced his long fingers along the edge of his fedora, and seemed to regret what he had just revealed. "Okay." he said sullenly.

He stepped closer to Leila and without warning, pressed his lips against her cheek. "Goodbye." he whispered.

Before Leila could recover from her shock, Times Square began to dim. The celebrating crowds faded, and twenty year old Nico melted into the shadows. She blinked a few times, and she was back in the present day in her cell.

* * *

**Nico's POV**

Leila rubbed her eyes and sat up. "How long was I out?"

Nico frowned. "You weren't out at all. You just looked at me for like, two seconds then collapsed."

She studied him so carefully that Nico was starting to wonder if the cereal Demeter had force fed him earlier was still on his face.

"I saw you." she finally said, turning a light shade of pink. "An older you."

"What?"

"I saw you." she repeated. She shook her head a few times and muttered something weird like, "You look good in a suit." before clambering to her feet.

Nico furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and shoved open the door. The guards were still dutifully there, their swords out and ready. He glared at them with barely contained rage.

"You can let her go now." he said, gritting his teeth.

"Have to pass her by Clarisse first." one of them said lazily. "And Mr. D."

"That won't be necessary." he growled. The guard stepped back a little at his tone.

"It's okay." Leila said calmly, surprising Nico. "You can take me."

She allowed her sword to be taken from her and her hands to be tied in front of her with a leather strap, further astonishing Nico.

"What are you planning?" he hissed in her ear.

"You'll see." she replied.

With the guards flanking them, they went up through the bottom of the Ares cabin. As they ascended from under the cabin, the children of Ares looked shocked at her appearance.

"Hoped you were dead." one of them sneered.

"Thought you were too powerful to be kidnapped?" another snickered.

Leila smiled sweetly. "What did you just say?"

The guy puffed out his chest. "I said -"

Leila's eyes flashed gold, scaring the wits out of the guy.

"_Ah!_" he yelled, stumbling backwards. "Get away, you freak!"

"That's what I thought." she muttered, before resuming her march towards the Big House.

It was weird, but Nico felt his legs turning to jelly anytime his arm brushed Leila. Like her very presence was slowing time down.

They finally reached the porch, where Clarisse was talking to Mr. D in hushed tones. Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly at Leila's appearance, but then the same scowl came back on her face.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mr. D asked. He looked seriously angry - his nostrils flared and his eyes sparked with purple energy. "She should've been rotting in that cell by now!"

It took all of Nico's self control not to launch himself at the god, but he clenched his fists and managed to say, "You locked her up underneath the Ares cabin with no light, no medical care, and little food. For _seven days_. And you knew about it this whole time!"

Mr. D shrugged. "So?"

"Percy and Annabeth've gone mad looking for her!"

"None of my concern." he said lightly, popping open a can of Diet Coke.

Leila took a deep breath. "We had an agreement," she insisted. "You said I could stay at the camp as long as I provided you with information."

"Yes, but that was _before_ you took on the powers of Kronos. Better to keep you nice and safe underground." Mr. D took a sip of his drink. "Now, back to the dungeon with you."

Leila's eyes flashed gold again, and she nodded, smirking. "You're scared of me."

"Excuse me?"

"You've been talking to Aliel. You're scared of a little demigod. Never would've expected that from an Olympian."

"Leila, are you_ insane_?" Nico whispered.

Mr. D's face turned an ugly, blotchy red. "Why, you_ little _- I ought to -"

"Turn me into a dolphin? A bottle of wine? You know you can't."

"How are you -"

Leila's eyes glittered gold. "I can see into your past, Dionysus. I may be a mere demigod, but I wouldn't make a very good enemy."

Mr. D clenched his jaw and said, "I can make you go mad with a snap of my fingers. I can make everyday a living nightmare for you."

"And make me lose what little control I have over my powers?"

Mr. D stared at her, and Nico was worried for a second that he might lose it. Leila's lips trembled a little bit, betraying the crazy fear she was hiding under her veil of bravado. But the god relaxed a little, and said reluctantly, "You've got nerve, girl. Don't test your luck for too long, though. I may not be able to touch you, but I'll leave your fate to the campers."

Mr. D disappeared into the Big House, probably to mull over the fact that he had been beaten by a daughter of Poseidon. Clarisse barely glanced at Leila before snapping to the guards, "Send her back to the cell."

"I don't think so." Nico said, stepping forward. "You're messing with the wrong demigods."

"Ooh, I'm so scared." Clarisse said in a high-pitched, mocking voice. "Go back to the Underworld, di Angelo."

"Shut up, Clarisse." Leila snarled. "Let me go."

"Prissy's not here to protect you, Brooke. I can do whatever I want."

"Where's Chiron?" Leila demanded. "Take me to Chiron!"

Clarisse bit her lip. It was obvious that she hadn't told the old centaur anything.

Nico wished he could just grab Leila and shadowtravel out, but he wasn't powerful enough to do that yet. He was barely standing on his feet - from running errands for Hades to suddenly shadowtraveling to Camp Half-Blood, his powers were completely drained. He was mulling over different escape plans until Clarisse put her fingers to her mouth and whistled. It was a shrill, loud whistle that traveled far and apparently had a very big effect on the campers.

A dozen of them came dashing over the hill, armed with weapons. Nico and Leila were surrounded within seconds with dangerous demigods wielding bows and swords.

"Stop time, Leila." Nico murmured. "Get us out of here."

"I need to hear the two choices first." she murmured back.

"What two choices?"

"Wait for it."

"You've got two choices!" Clarisse roared. "Dungeon, or death!"

Clarisse couldn't do that. When did she begin to control everything?

Then he realized something. Clarisse was_ intimidated_. From years of being overshadowed by Percy and Annabeth, and now facing a demigod who had more power than any other in the camp.

"Stop time, Leila. Do it!" Nico yelled.

"_Choose!_" Clarisse screamed.

Leila licked her lips. "I choose...I choose..."

_Why is it so hard? Just choose the dungeon! _Nico thought angrily. _Stop time and get us out of here!_

A shadow of a smile played on her face. "I choose death."

* * *

*****A/N: Gods, what has Leila gotten herself into this time? How'd you like this chapter? I know it's shorter than the last, but I promise the next one will be much longer!**

**What do you want to happen next? Seriously. Do you want a dramatic entrance by Percy and Annabeth or a flashy display of Leila's powers or something entirely different? Let me know by reviewing!**


	51. Control

**Annabeth's POV**

Annabeth was_ tired_. She was tired of the inspecting, of the looking, and of the hunting. She was sick of looking for that one elusive demigod _everywhere_, and that included travelling across the country to her hometown. Percy was running ragged, blaming himself for not keeping a close enough eye on her. Nico's powers were worn out: he had shadow travelled to every possible place where Leila could've been, but to no avail.

Above all, Annabeth was getting plenty frustrated too. _Why _would Leila run off and not tell anyone where she was going? And where could she have gone? Percy and Annabeth were barely getting anywhere, with all the monsters chasing them. How far could Leila have actually gotten?

"I'm done!" came Percy's voice from inside the men's restroom, shaking Annabeth from her reverie.

"Ugh. Good for you." she mumbled.

Percy walked out of the restroom and searched her face. "Nothing?" he asked hopelessly.

Annabeth shook her head. "Looked all over the city. No signs of her at all."

Oh yeah, did Annabeth mention that they also searched _New York City _- the most populous city in the United States - for Leila too?

Percy slammed his fist against the wall.

"Seven days." he moaned for the 18th time that day. "Where could she have _gone_?"

Annabeth slumped her shoulders. "Percy, I think it's time that we -"

" - gave up?" he finished, his face falling. "I don't think we have any other choice now."

She nodded and kept one hand on her dagger. Her eyes darted around the busy street. "New York is crawling with monsters." she muttered anxiously. "We'd better get out of here."

Before they could take another step forward, the light bent strangely. The air shimmered, and a rainbow appeared out of nowhere. That could mean only one thing.

"Iris message." Annabeth said.

Chiron's face appeared in the mist. He looked exhausted. "You two had better come to the camp straightaway."

"Why? What happened?" Percy demanded.

"I have just been informed by a trusted source that Leila has been held against her will as a prisoner."

Annabeth felt a weight drop into her stomach. "Where?"

Chiron's shoulders sagged. "Here. At Camp Half-Blood."

* * *

Annabeth had never, ever seen Percy so angry. Not when he was facing Luke, and not even when Zoe Nightshade had died.

As soon as the message had faded, Percy gave a taxi cab whistle. Within seconds, Blackjack's form appeared in the sky.

"C'mon." he said shortly, storming to his pegasus. Annabeth boosted herself onto Blackjack's back and tried to ignore the stares from the passing New Yorkers. From her experience, Blackjack probably looked like a very large motorcycle. Or a truck.

Annabeth linked her arms around Percy's waist and they soared into the sky.

"Why isn't Chiron doing anything about it?" Percy yelled over the gust of the wind.

"He has no power over what's going on!" Annabeth yelled back. "He needs our help! Thank gods Silena told him in time!"

Within minutes, Blackjack landed in front of Thalia's tree. Percy paused only to stroke Blackjack's mane and whisper something about donuts before sprinting towards the Big House.

_Be cautious. _Chiron had said earlier. _Don't go storming in. _

"Percy, wait." Annabeth said. "Maybe this isn't the best idea."

"They've taken my sister prisoner!" Percy growled.

"Which is why you're not thinking straight right now." Annabeth countered. "I'll go in with my invisibility hat, and you sneak around. We'll get more information that way."

Percy opened his mouth to argue, then clamped it shut. "Fine." he snapped.

Annabeth pulled on her cap and ran in zig zags, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Then, something caught her attention. Raised voices. Sounds of weapons being drawn.

She whipped around, and caught sight of Leila, Nico, and Clarisse arguing on the porch. Leila's wrists were tied in front of her with a leather cord, and she was flanked by two guards. Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief. She looked mostly unharmed, except for a large purple bruise blooming on her chin. Nico looked completely drained, but was obviously furious. Even with her scowl, Clarisse's expression was oddly blank - her words were vaguely monotonous, which wasn't like her.

"Send her back to the cell." Clarisse was saying.

Annabeth's vision turned red. _Clarisse _was behind this? This wasn't like her.

"I don't think so." Nico snarled, getting in her face. "You're messing with the wrong demigods."

"Ooh, I'm so scared." Clarisse mocked. "Go back to the Underworld, di Angelo."

"Shut up, Clarisse." Leila narrowed her eyes. "Take me to Chiron!"

Annabeth quickly darted behind Clarisse and took off her cap for just a moment. Nico didn't notice, but Leila's eyes widened a little. Her head inclined forward an inch, acknowledging her presence.

Clarisse did something that Annabeth wasn't expecting - she put her index finger and thumb in her mouth and whistled - sharp and loud.

There was a thundering of footsteps, and around twelve to fourteen campers came running towards them, armed with spears, swords, and bows.

_Why is she doing this? _Annabeth thought frantically. _She's not going to actually kill Leila, is she? _

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Percy's head sticking out of the side of the building, his face contorted with rage.

"Wait!" she hissed, just loud enough for Percy to hear. He nodded reluctantly, then focused his attention back on the approaching campers.

Annabeth wasn't one to leave Leila without help, but she wanted to see what Clarisse would do. Clarisse could easily lie about her intentions later.

She gasped a little when she saw the campers' faces - Will Solace, the Stoll brothers, and Katie Gardner were among them. She couldn't believe that they could betray Leila like that.

Then again...their expressions. They were completely blank, devoid of emotion. Like Clarisse's. Like they were being controlled or something.

Nico urgently whispered something Leila, but she shook her head and muttered something back.

"You've got two choices!" Clarisse roared. "Dungeon, or death!"

"What?" Annabeth yelled, pulling off her cap, but no one noticed her. She made a move for her dagger, and saw Percy doing the same for Riptide.

"Stop time, Leila. Do it!" Nico yelled.

"Choose!" Clarisse screamed.

"I choose...I choose..." Leila's gaze met Annabeth's, and a slight smile curved her lips. "I choose death."

Smart. Very smart. The campers weren't expecting Leila to choose that option, so they paused for a moment, confused.

Even before Leila finished her seemingly astonishing statement, Annabeth's limbs were already in motion. She kicked Connor in the helmet so hard that he dropped to the ground, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Percy slashed and slammed Riptide, attacking their friends, watching them crumple to the grass. But more kept coming, and Annabeth couldn't fathom why they were attacking the most experienced leaders at camp. She could feel herself beginning to get a little overwhelmed, and she couldn't bring herself to fight when Keaton Wyse confronted her.

"Keaton, are you crazy?" she yelled as her weapon made contact with his. "What in Hades are you doing?"

"For the good of the camp." Keaton responded dully, his eyes glazed over.

The butt of Annabeth's knife made just making its arc towards Clarisse's jaw when her legs turned to jelly. Alarmed, she tried to kick forward, but her legs had turned to stone. All around her, something strange was happening. The archers' arrows were notched, but they never left their bows. Spears and swords were hanging in the air. Percy was frozen mid leap, and Nico was moving at the speed of a glacier.

The only person who was moving normally was...Leila. Her irises had turned to that shocking golden color, and her hands, still bound, gave off wisps of yellow energy. She stepped back and evaluated her handiwork.

_Leila _was doing this?

"Much better." Leila said appreciatively. She sawed through her straps with Travis Stoll's sword, and threw the leather aside. She knocked a spear flying in slow motion at Nico's chest to the ground.

She stretched her arms out luxuriously, and the light spread out even further, encasing them all in a hazy golden light.

_Nice trick. _Annabeth wanted to say. _Now can you unfreeze me? _

And where the heck did she get powers like that from? Percy had told her that Aliel had done it, but Annabeth didn't know that Leila had this much influence over time.

She wasn't sure she liked Leila this way - too powerful for her own good. Annabeth couldn't shake the feeling that Leila looked a bit like Luke.

She expected Leila to collapse from such a huge display, but she looked...normal. Better than normal. Her face was radiant with golden light and her cheeks were flushed. She didn't seem to want to stop anytime soon. When she saw Keaton among the campers who attacked her, her face hardened.

Starting with him, Leila glared at each traitor and yelled, "Not so high and mighty now, huh? How _dare _you throw me in that cell! How _dare _you betray my trust!"

She shook a little with anger, and continued mercilessly, "You are all nothing. Nothing! You were so afraid of me that you went back on your promises and locked me up. Like an _animal_!"

Leila snapped her fingers, and Clarisse unfroze. Leila grabbed the cloth on Clarisse's shirt and shook her a few times. "You gave me the option to either die or stay in that hole in the ground. I have half a mind to make your heart stop functioning." Leila snarled. "To freeze it in time and watch you suffer!"

Clarisse said nothing, but looked at her with eyes wild with fear. Leila let her go and shoved her back. "But I won't do that. Because it's obvious that you've been talking to Aliel and listening to her lies. You fucking coward."

"Leila!" boomed a voice behind Annabeth. "That is _enough_!"

Chiron came clopping towards Leila, his eyes cold and hard. "I understand you are upset. However, that does not justify what you are doing. Unfreeze them. _Now_."

Leila clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles turned white. "They gave me the

choice between prison and death. I am justified to do whatever I want."

"There are rules! You cannot simply - " Chiron faltered.

Because Leila got _mad_. Her eyes flashed brighter, and the wisps of energy curling around Annabeth's feet grew stronger, wrapping themselves around her waist.

"Control yourself!" Chiron shouted desperately.

Leila's nostrils flared, and Annabeth was afraid for a heartbeat that she would actually kill the centaur. Then, her eyes slowly turned green again. She held out her palms, releasing Annabeth and the others from her time trap.

She found she could move again, talk again. Percy ran forward and embraced Leila, but the other campers were more wary. Some actually screamed and ran to their cabins once they unfroze - probably to spread the news.

Nico stepped towards Leila cautiously and said softly, "Was that really necessary? We had the situation under control."

"Oh yeah, because when your own friends suddenly attack you, the situation is really under control." Leila snapped.

"You let your anger get the better of you!" Nico said, his voice rising. "Instead of using your powers in extreme situations, you're using them to get revenge!"

"That's what they deserve."

"That's not _like you_. What happened to you in that cell, Leila?"

Leila closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Annabeth touched her arm hesitantly, and quickly pulled back. "Gods, your skin is _hot_!"

Leila frowned. "I feel fine."

"No, you're burning up. Feel her, Percy."

"I'd rather not." he said, pointing at the smoke curling off Leila's arm. The hair on it was signed.

"If you had continued using your powers, you would have spontaneously combusted." Annabeth deduced. "You should avoid using them."

"I feel _fine_." Leila repeated insistently. She looked at Annabeth, and the weirdest thing happened. Leila's eyes flashed gold, and Annabeth literally saw her own life flashing before her eyes, images moving so fast they blurred together. It ended after just a minute, her lifeline shattering into a thousand different possibilities.

Annabeth reared back like she'd just been punched. Leila, a girl she'd just met a month back, had just see her entire life. She felt raw, vulnerable...exposed.

"Y-you just...you just..." Annabeth felt herself getting angrier and angrier. "You had no right to do that!"

"I'm sorry. I can't control it." Leila said apologetically. "It happens if I look at somebody too long. Wow, you guys looked for me in San Francisco?"

That's it? Just a _'I'm sorry for invading your privacy and uncovering all of your secrets.'_ then _'Wow! San Francisco! Amazing!'_

"Yeah." Percy said. "Let me tell you, it wasn't - wait, how'd you know that?"

Annabeth scowled. "Leila can look into people's pasts, apparently. Without that person's permission."

Leila raised her hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't ask for this!"

"People's _pasts_? How does that even work?" Percy said enthusiastically.

"Don't sound so excited, Jackson." Leila said sourly. "It's not that great."

The gears in Annabeth's head started whirring. Annabeth didn't know why their friends attacked them. Leila can see people's entire lives. Leila could figure it out.

"What did you see when you looked at Clarisse?" Annabeth said. "Did you find out why she kidnapped you?"

Leila suddenly became very interested in her feet. "Yeah." she said sullenly. "I shouldn't have snapped at her like that. Aliel incited fear in Clarisse and Mr. D. And influenced the other campers. They weren't aware of what they were doing."

"And you attacked them anyway?" Nico said angrily.

"Hey, Clarisse didn't _have _to listen to Aliel! It was _Clarisse's _choice whether to do what she said or not. She may have not wanted to kill me, but she definitely wanted to throw me into that stupid cell."

"Where did they hide you though? We searched all over the camp!" Percy said.

"The Ares cabin has an underground prison." Leila said darkly. "No one can get in or out. I don't know how Nico got in, though -"

"I have a talent with breaking into high security prisons." he said smugly.

"Yeah." Leila said lamely. Her gaze shifted from Percy to Annabeth. "Um, I think I need some time by myself. I'm going to...head to the forest. See you later."

Annabeth stared at her retreating figure. "We've barely seen her for an hour, and she just goes off like that?"

Nico sighed. "Annabeth, Leila wasn't aware she was gone for a week. She sped up time while she was in the cell. For her, all of this was within a span of a day or two. I should probably go after her." He was obviously not comfortable being with Percy or Annabeth.

After he left, Annabeth said, "Percy, did Leila do the same thing with you?"

Percy brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Do what?"

Annabeth got momentarily distracted by the movement, then snapped back into it. "You know. See your life and everything."

He shook his head. "If she did, I didn't notice."

She crossed her arms. Why would Leila look at Annabeth's life and not Percy's?

* * *

**Nico's POV**

Nico entered the dark forest, and tried to see where Leila had gone. It took a while - maybe 45 minutes, but he finally found Leila near the middle of the woods, talking to someone.

Wait, _talking _to someone?

Nico immediately slowed down his pace so he wouldn't make as much noise, and hid behind a tree. He was pretty good at spying. It was very rare for him to be caught.

He inched behind Leila to see who she was talking to, and saw the figure of a familiar girl with dark, spiky hair and bright blue eyes shimmering in an Iris message.

"- lots of good opportunities." the girl was saying.

_Thalia. _Nico immediately remembered. But why would Thalia be talking to Leila?

"But I can't just _leave._" Leila said.

"You can always visit. And after your display today, it may be too dangerous -" Thalia's voice dropped so low that Nico could barely catch the words.

" - never have to see -"

" - don't trust you anyway -"

" - happy?"

Leila furrowed her eyebrows, and finally nodded. Thalia's expression softened, and she said, "I have to go. But we'll come for you later."

Leila waved her hand through the mist, cutting off the message. She put her face in her hands and didn't cry, but just stood there for a long, long time.

Nico finally emerged from his hiding place and said hesitantly, "Are you okay?"

She looked up and didn't look too surprised. "Yeah. I think I am."

"Why were you talking to Thalia?" he burst out. Okay, that was probably really rude, but he couldn't help it.

Leila kept her eyes trained on a spot above his head, and said curtly, "Thalia offered me a chance to join the Hunters."

Nico's heart dropped to his stomach. "And...what did you say?"

Her gaze finally came back to his face. "Nico..."

"_What did you say?_"

"I...I said yes."

* * *

*****A/N: 300 reviews...? How...? **

**Thank you all so much for your amazing reviews! I really, _really_ appreciate it. **

**Anyway, I hope I updated quickly enough; this chapter took a while to write. Do you want Leila to join the Hunters for a while then leave? Join them permanently? Or not join altogether? OR SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW? **

**Keep in mind that Leila doesn't have feelings for Nico yet. She has a little crush on him, but nothing major. Did you like this chapter? Hate it? Let me know by reviewing!**


	52. Nico Causes a Minor Earthquake

**Leila's POV**

Leila was having a rotten day. She had been imprisoned for what seemed like a few hours, only to discover she had been gone for a whole week. Half of the campers were under Aliel's control and backing Clarisse, Nico and Annabeth were boiling mad at her, _and_ she had freaky time powers which she could barely control. Oh, and did she mention they could burn her up at any time?

So, yeah. Bad day.

She didn't know how it was possible, but it somehow managed to get even worse.

She was standing awkwardly between Percy and Annabeth, one of whom was glaring at her with such intensity that Leila was actually concerned she would burn up.

"Yeah. Um, I think I need some time by myself. I'm going to...head to the forest. See you later." Leila said quickly.

She turned around and sprinted to the forest, turning around a few times to make sure no one was following her. She slowed down to a jog, and eventually a leisurely walk, enjoying the sunshine streaming through the trees and on her face.

She hadn't meant to blow up at Clarisse or threaten to kill her or anything. She just...had behavioral issues.

To prove this point, Leila kicked at a few trees, earning her dirty looks from the nearby nymphs.

"Sorry." she muttered before moving on.

She kept putting one foot in front of the other. No destination in mind, just to get as far away from the camp as possible. She stopped at a creek that ran straight through the heart of the forest and sat down on a decent sized rock.

It was darker here. A bit colder too. She shivered and wished she brought a sweater.

She leaned back lazily and stared at a patch of light which was moving strangely. Bending and twisting, it shimmered and began to change color.

_Iris Message._

Leila reluctantly hopped down from her rock and took a closer look. A girl with intense blue eyes, black hair, and a silver tiara appeared in the mist.

"Hey." the girl said. "My name is Thalia. And _you're _in huge trouble."

* * *

"Great." Leila mumbled. "What did I do now?"

"Let's see." Thalia began ticking off her fingers. "You join Luke's army, almost kill Percy, nearly destroy Camp Half-Blood, channel the spirit of Kronos, and threaten campers with your dangerous time powers. You're really asking me what you did?"

"Hey!" Leila raised her hands in surrender. "Most of that stuff were just accidents! Notice you said _almost _kill Percy and _nearly _destroy Camp Half-Blood. Didn't happen, though."

Thalia scowled at her. "Yeah, but you're still risky to have around."

"Who are you anyway? How do you know all of that?"

"I'm the Lieutenant of Artemis. And I have sources, Brooke. I'm not totally uninformed about these things."

Leila crossed her arms. "Okay. So why are you talking to me?"

Thalia sighed. "Your recent...actions haven't gone completely unnoticed. Especially by the gods."

"You mean Zeus is coming after me?"

"Not yet." Thalia said. "He doesn't even know of your existence yet."

Leila snorted. "Are you serious?"

"It _is _better that way." Thalia countered. "When I was discovered, I was chased by monsters until I was twelve. And then I turned into a tree."

Leila privately hoped that this didn't happen to all children of the Big Three. Thalia laughed at her face and continued, "And I wasn't talking about Zeus or Hera. I was talking about Artemis."

At Leila's blank expression, she sighed again and continued, "As you probably know, Artemis has a band of handmaidens. Basically a bunch of immortal girls who go around hunting monsters with her. Dangerous stuff, but..."

"I know what they do. And what's your point?" Leila said, a little impatiently.

"She wants you to join us."

Leila felt her heart jump to her throat and wildly tried to process this new information. "What? I don't want to join the Hunters!"

Thalia's face softened with pity. "I'm sorry, Leila, but it's not really a choice."

"What do you mean it's not a choice?" Leila demanded.

"I mean that this order comes from Artemis herself. And when a goddess gives a command like that...it means either join or die."

Leila stomped her foot like a little kid. "But why? Why does she want me to join?"

"She feels like you'll cause less trouble if you're under her supervision. And she can teach you how to use your powers better. Come on, Leila. You're not happy there. I can feel it. I was a camper once too, you know."

Thalia sounded so sincere and looked so concerned that Leila felt her anger melting away.

"What if I say no?"

"Then you'll be turned into a jackalope. Or if Artemis is in a good mood, she'll kill you."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"But...but you can't just...I can't..."

"You'll have lots of good opportunities." Thalia said temptingly.

"But I can't just _leave._" Leila said.

"You can always visit. And after your display today, it may be too dangerous for you to stay there. You've already been betrayed by half of the camp."

"Thanks for reminding me." Leila said sourly.

"You'll never have to see them again, if you want. You can start over, and have a whole new life. Tell me honestly, are you actually happy?"

Leila felt her eyes pricking. "No." she admitted. "But joining the Hunters isn't the only solution."

"It's the best one. We're coming by at the end of the week, and...Leila, I don't want to say this again, but it's _join _or _die_."

She couldn't. She couldn't just leave Percy and Annabeth and Keaton and...and Nico. She couldn't leave Nico alone. Who knows what would happen to him?

Then again, she rather liked not being a jackalope. Artemis was a seriously scary goddess. She was one of those Olympians who you do _not _mess with.

Leila nodded. Because for once, this was a situation she couldn't get herself out of.

Thalia smiled in relief. "I have to go. But we'll come for you later."

Leila waved her hand through the mist, and the message disconnected. The full impact of what she'd just agreed to hit her, and she covered her face with her hands.

Gods, she'd just agreed to _join the Hunters_. Immortality. No boys. Leila doubted that Artemis would even allow her to talk to Percy once in a while. No more chatting with Keaton. No more hanging out with Nico.

Nico...holy Poseidon, this was going to devastate him. Bianca had basically told her not to do one thing: join the Hunters. And she'd done it.

What was she going to do?

"Are you okay?" someone asked.

Leila looked up, and wasn't too surprised to see Nico standing there. She knew that he was an expert at spying, and wondered how much he heard. "Yeah. I think I am." she said cautiously.

"Why were you talking to Thalia?" he demanded.

Wow. That was rude.

Leila avoided his cold gaze and focused on the tree behind him.

"Thalia offered me a chance to join the Hunters." she said as quickly as humanly possible.

Nico paled. "And...what did you say?" he whispered. _Here it comes._

Leila met his eyes unwillingly. "Nico..."

His hands clenched into fists, but Leila didn't back away. "_What did you say?__" _ He was yelling now.

"I...I said yes."

Nico squeezed his eyes shut and trembled violently. The ground underneath Leila's feet began to rock violently, causing her to lose her balance and nearly fall on her face. She needed to calm Nico down before it turned into a full-scale earthquake.

Before she could grab the chance, he said in a dangerously calm voice, "And...why...would you do that?"

"I had no other choice!" Leila shouted. "It was either join the Hunters, or be turned into a jackalope!"

Nico didn't crack a smile. He glowered at her and snarled, "You're lying."

"What? No, I'm not!"

"You don't care about me."

"Nico, what are you saying? Of course I do!"

"You _know _what happened to Bianca, and you're joining the Hunters anyway!"

Leila was so shocked by this accusation that she stared at Nico for a few moments longer than necessary.

She realized her mistake two seconds too late.

A white-hot pain surged through her brain. She fell to her knees and pressed her hands to her temples. She vaguely heard Nico yelling something, but it was too late, because her vision was darkening and maybe he got so mad at her that he killed her but that wasn't possible because...because...suddenly she was back in 1940's Times Square.

* * *

Something was different, though. It was drizzling. The crowds were gone. The ground was littered with trampled newspapers and cigarettes. It was completely silent, which was terrifying, because it was New York City. And New York was never quiet.

There was no sight of 1940's Nico anywhere.

_Danger! _Her instincts screamed at her. She shifted into a fighting stance and inched forward slowly, her hands hovering over her sword.

She could hear someone whispering something, chanting in an ancient language.

It was a completely stupid thing to do, but she called out tentatively, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

The chanting faltered for a moment, then picked up again. The words, though unfamiliar, filled Leila with an oddly strong sense of fear. So strong that she backed up and started sprinting in the opposite direction, which wasn't like her.

All around her, the old-fashioned light bulb signs advertising stuff from peanuts to Chevrolet's began to shut themselves off.

Leila's heart thumped faster. This was the kind of stuff that happened in horror movies. And horror movies never ended well.

"Relax." she told herself in a shaky voice. "This isn't real, just happening in your head. Nico's timestream. You've been here before. Nothing's going to happen to you."

The universe seemed to love to prove her wrong. One by one, the street lights switched themselves off. The headlights from distant cars dimmed. The advertisements blended themselves into the shadows, and Times Square was plunged into complete darkness.

"Nico!" Leila screamed. She tried to summon her time powers, but she was too scared to think. This was, no contest, the more frightening than any other monster thing she had faced. To be trapped in an illusion of the 1940's forever...the thought of it made Leila scream louder. "Take me back! Take me back!"

She slipped on a wet newspaper and scraped her chin. She hastily got to her feet and ignored the sting. This place was making her feel insane. Because it reminded her of the Labyrinth.

Leila slashed her sword in a large arc, trying to somehow ward off the darkness. A cool hand shot out of the darkness and grasped her wrist, shocking her so badly that she dropped her weapon.

1940's Nico loomed over her, his face cold and handsome.

"Be very, very still." he murmured. "It's too dangerous to move."

He let go of her wrist, and slipped his hand in hers. That would have been totally embarrassing under normal circumstances, but Leila was glad to have someone to hold on to.

Nico pointed at a nearby street light, and it flickered on. He did the same for the rest of the lights, until Times Square was back to its former glory.

Leila was now able to see Nico properly. He didn't look as carefree and happy as he had last time, though. His wet hair was sticking out in all different directions, and his eyes kept darting anxiously from one building to the other.

"Something's changed." Nico said, running his free hand through his hair. "That shouldn't have happened. You were almost trapped here forever."

"Wonderful." she said sarcastically. "And did you have something to do with it?"

"Of course not! _You _did, though." He narrowed his eyes at her, and nodded, as if he had just picked out a thought from her mind. "You've made a choice that changed my entire timestream."

Leila studied their entwined fingers. "Does that explain what just happened?"

"Yes. Whatever you've done has changed my...I mean, _your _Nico's life for the worse." he said coolly. Leila tried to tug her hand away, but Nico only held on harder.

"What did you do? How could you have caused this? What could you have possibly - _oh_." He finally let go of her hand. "You've joined the Hunters."

"It wasn't my choice!" Leila snapped defensively.

Nico's eyes flashed. "You've abandoned him. The same way Bianca did!"

She jabbed a finger into his chest. "I was _forced _into joining the Hunters. You think I wanted this?"

"Then run away with him! Don't just leave him!"

"Don't be an idiot, Nico! You know I can't do that!"

"You never cared for him. Not the way he cares about you." he snapped. "Go. Go join the Hunters and be immortal and _never _come back!"

Leila's eyes stung with tears. "I didn't want this."

Nico scowled at her and turned away. "Go." he repeated, waving his hand.

Times Square disappeared, and she was back at Camp Half-Blood, curled up in a ball on the forest floor, screaming her head off.

* * *

**Nico's POV**

Nico didn't do it, okay? He didn't make Leila collapse like that. No matter how furious he was at her, he would never, ever hurt her. Sure, he was plenty mad at her for joining the Hunters, because it was just so _unexpected_. It wasn't her style, to join a bunch of girls who pranced through national parks for eternity.

Maybe he overreacted a little.

And perhaps Leila was telling the truth about the "join or die" situation. But there were other options. He could...take her to the Underworld and hide her in his room? Or move to China and stay undercover? Or go to Italy and change their names and...no. He couldn't do any of that. Because this wasn't Dionysus or Hermes they were talking about, it was Artemis.

Nico had seen plenty of scary things, but Artemis scared the crap out of him. When he was eleven, he was innocent and cute and all, but as soon as he hit the teens, _man_. It all went downhill from there. He once accidentally shadowtravelled in the middle of the Hunters' camp, and Artemis stared at him so coldly that he felt like his insides were turning to ice.

Nico didn't want Leila to turn into those Hunters who thought that boys were completely useless and weren't good for anything.

He shook Leila a little, whose eyes had rolled to the back of her head. Her skin was smoking slightly.

"Leila?" he said, panicking a little. "Can you hear me?"

He took her hand. Leila unexpectedly latched onto it and squeezed so tightly that Nico thought his fingers were going to explode. She started screaming for a few seconds, then sat straight up. Her eyes flared gold for a few moments, then returned to their normal green.

She squeezed her eyelids shut, then opened them again, focusing on Nico's face.

"You gonna yell at me again?" she asked weakly.

Nico laughed shakily, relieved. He studied her terrified face, and guessed, "You saw into my past."

Leila nodded a few times, looking so scared that he wondered what she could have possibly seen.

"Did you see my mom? What does she look like?" he asked eagerly. He was disappointed when Leila shook her head.

"Your dad blocked your timeline. I can't see your mom or your sister. I can't see anything except..."

"Except what?"

"What could have been. You're a 1920's kid. Something important happened, something that disrupted your lifeline. All I can see is what you could have been had you stayed in the time period you should have."

Nico shook his head a few times in confusion. "Then what did you see, exactly?"

"Well for starters, you're going to be really hot when you grow up -"

"I - how - what?" Nico sputtered, his face turning fire truck red.

"Hard to believe, right?"

"Shut up, Leila."

"Hey, you asked!"

"Okay, great. Now move on."

Leila licked her chapped lips. "The Nico I saw...the 1940's Nico...he was seriously mad at me when he heard I joined the Hunters. He-he told me never to come back again. And, I know he's fake, but gods, I thought he was going to kill me."

"You know I wouldn't do that."

"Which is why I'm glad you didn't stay in the 1920's. You would've become seriously evil."

"Evil?"

"Like, Hitler's-right-hand-man evil."

Nico blinked. "Oh."

If he had lived as he should have, during the World War II era, he would have served his father and assisted the Nazis. He couldn't imagine himself doing that now. But one thing was still bothering him...

"What was the major thing that happened in my past? And why can't I remember it?"

Leila looked troubled. "I don't know. I told you that I couldn't see it. Whatever it was, it was enough to bring you to the future."

She tugged at her hair and muttered, completely out of the blue, "And...and...I'm sorry. About the Hunters, I mean. I didn't -"

"It's okay." Nico said.

"Really?"

"Really. Aphrodite'll be disappointed, though."

Leila snorted. "Oooh, I'm so scared." She stood up and gave him a half-smile. "I've got until the end of the week. What do you want to do first?"

"Don't you want time to say goodbye to Percy?"

"You're more important."

Nico flushed again, and was about to make a suggestion until he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.

Leila's eyes widened as she looked over Nico's shoulder. He turned around, and saw someone he was least expecting.

"Anubis." Nico spit.

Instead of smirking or scowling, Anubis said something that further astonished Nico.

He dropped to his knees, clasped his hands and said, "I need your help."

* * *

*****A/N: Leave them alone, Anubis. God. **

**I am incredibly sorry that I haven't updated this story quickly. School's started for me, unfortunately, which makes it difficult for me to update quickly. A fair warning to all of my lovely readers: I WILL NOT BE UPDATING REGULARLY FROM NOW ON. I might update twice a week or twice a month, it all depends on my work load. But remember that this story will _never ever be abandoned_. Why would I do that to you, anyway?**

**As for the House of Hades, yes, I have deleted it. I'm so sorry, but I just can't deal with rewriting an entire story at this moment. Will I rewrite it eventually? Maybe. It all depends on what happens in the actual, legitimate House of Hades that's coming out in October. Like, what if Nico dies? That'll change everything. Leila will have to cope and might end up with Leo. I don't know. **

**PLEASE PLEASE review! I tried out a more casual style for this chapter, and tell me how you liked it! And what do you want Anubis to need help with? **


End file.
